Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D!
by Suryallee
Summary: D comes for Leon for a change instead of Leon chasing D all over the globe for once. Was meant as a one shot, has three chapters by now. T for swearing and some scenes. M/M, F/M D/Leon, Others Don't like, Don't read!
1. Chapter 1

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

**Disclaimer: **

Pet Shop Of Horrors, the characters (with the exception of my made up OC's) and neither the manga do belong to me in any way or form! They belong to their rightful owners by law and the artist. I make no money from it and neither plan to do so in any kind of the future.

**Little Glossary: **

(KAMI, a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(DAIYU (黛玉). Chinese name for girls, meaning "black jade," from (黛) tai4 1306a "black, umber, to paint the eyebrows," and (玉) yü4 1685c "jade, jewels; beautiful, precious." (A Mandarin-Romanized Dictionary of Chinese, MacGillivray, 1921).)

(DOVES, a common bird from all over the world. Mostly seen as a pest in bigger cities because they grow fast in numbers. Can be the transmitter for illnesses since they eat practically everything from the streets and trash cans if given the chance. In some cities they even lay out poison traps to reduce the numbers. Come in many races, mostly through selected breeding by humans)

**Chapter one: Time flows… **

Leon fiddled around with his gun parts. He had dissembled the entire gun to clean and oil it properly. All three months he went through this habit of his. His coworkers did mostly smirk or shake their heads when seeing him working on his hobby.

For Leon, this meant he was brooding again and could not find a way through his thoughts any other way.

At first he had chased the elusive Kami all over the globe even caught up to D for a few times almost. Then, one sunny day in the middle of Bangkok the blond had snapped. Throwing his meager belongings down onto the sidewalk, Leon had broken out in such an fool mouthed rant that the authorities had been called to make him move away in the end.

One of them had a relative that was a monk and had brought Leon straight to the older gentleman to set his head right.

Well, the old man had succeeded where D had always failed. After nearly staying for half a year there at that smallish temple, Leon had learned more as he had ever with D, the Kami. He had not changed his religion in a matter of speaking, Leon had just learned more about gods and demons, what others called Kami or spirits and animals that were called myths in the modern world. Even now, nearly seven years later the once again cop often exchanged mails with the old man.

The old priest had mourned the fact that Leon did remember so damn much.

It had stunted Leon as he had called it. Made him a different being in the end, had ruined him for a normal life. Leon had needed that half a year to come to terms with that information. In the end it had proven to be truth. The simply, fucking truth. Leon hated it and loved it at the same time. He had needed far longer to settle back into his old live. In a matter of speaking, his new experiences aided him day in, day out.

On his job he now held the highest catching rate of criminals in history for his age.

The FBI, and other intuitions had asked for his assistance increasingly in the last years. His nose for trouble was famous in the underworld as well as in the courts. He never now missed any details on a crime scene and so on. His paycheck thanked this to Leon each month with having positive numbers now instead of the big minus from before.

To write black numbers instead of red ones had made him feel better in a way, not having cared for money much before but having learned with the last years that it could help you a big deal sometimes.

Now a large amount of his money Leon did spend on children's helping groups as well as on some animal rescue groups like the WWF or others. He had gotten a nice flat with the secret help of a coworker in the upper class parts of LA, with a breathtaking sight over the ocean. In exchange the now captain had helped with the security systems and to select the right men and woman for the jobs. He still checked every half year on them in exchange for lower flat bills and it worked good for him. It helped Leon to not feel too claustrophobic as he felt often in the late.

Why he couldn't exactly explain either, only that it was so.

Right now his life, for once, was going a good way. He ought to keep it that way. The old man had promised him to somehow sent his picture of Chris to the elusive Kami with time. How the old guy wanted to do that was beyond Leon but puhlease! He did not even want to know. Better be ignorant, Leon thought. Only that the damn bastard got it was important… and then? What? He did not really know himself, did not even really care. Leon had done the unthinkable a year and a half back, he had gotten himself into the only bluster he had never wanted to get himself into.

Leon had a one nightstand with consequences with a prostitute.

With a young woman that he had not known for longer as a mere day. A prostitute with dubious background, he found that one out much later. Chinese origin and he had been drunker as a sailor in the old myths and legends that night. Now he had a barely one year old daughter that currently lived with him since shortly after her birth. The woman whose name he had never really learned had tried to abort the baby first but failed and had been admitted to the authorities in the end. Her *owner* had been caught and brought to jail…the entire event went as ugly as it could.

In the very finale, she had died giving birth by catching an rare ailment for woman after birth.

Irony wanted it that Leon had been the very one who had busted the meat ring and had caught the leader half a year before she gave birth. He never knew about his daughter until the children's care agency stood on his doorstep one day with a baby safe in one hand and a lots of papers in the other.

The rest had been a big shock for one Leon Orcrot.

Her late mother had not told anyone who the father was, that much the woman had kept to herself to safe his face, as Leon learned later. Knowing it had been him who had busted the ring and had freed her and many others and had nailed their tormentors and remembering him from that day. But in her diaries they had found his name and clues. That day they had shown him a warrant to appear before court and have a test.

It was positive as positive can get and Leon, found innocent of knowledge had become a father in under ten days, so to speak.

A single father in police service of one little Daiyu. Hearing her name for the first time had him first looking comically wide-eyed at the poor woman telling him and then had Leon sit down to laugh his ass of for nearly an full hour. Under the confused stares of everyone else besides Jill who had accompanied her former partner to this.

She understood his hilarity to some extent.

Daiyu begun with the letter D, simple as that. "I swear, Jill! The D's in the world are out to get me!" He told her finally calmed down a long while later. Little Daiyu simply blew raspberries at the pair and ignored them all. Now, nearly a full year later, Leon was surprised to find that he had taken rather easily to the changes in his life. Daiyu was his daughter and that was that for Leon. The first thing he had done was finding a good daycare center for his daughter and to pledge for a change in his schedules. He got both easily done. Now he worked only half days and spend the rest with working cases from home per internet. Had made taken study ours in different universities for becoming a profiler and was currently juggling a lot in his live. Still, he was happy in a sense. Daiyu was a mostly silent and easy child, only when getting hungry she could be a pest.

Oh well, he learned out of his mistakes early on.

At the moment, she learned to crawl what often lead to dangerous situations that had him swear to get grey hairs with her before his time! Like the one time when she had nearly robbed out of the large window in the living room. Going from bottom to the top of the room. After that he had secured the entire place up.

Now no window or door opened without his knowledge anymore. Neither did they stand open anymore. He had become so cautious of his daughters welfare that much that occasional checkers of the children's agencies were impressed. That Chris was going to life with him again in two weeks was another thing that Leon had to wrap his head around at first.

The younger brother of Leon had requested it, at court!

The story was short.

Their both elusive drunkard of a father had finally found his last brain cells back and had made a fuzz with a money hungry shark of a lawyer in order to get on the money their late mother had left in a trust fond for Christopher's education. Turned our, after weeks that his aunt and uncle had liberated the money years ago for a project of his uncle what in turn had the authorities now imprison him for theft, take away Chris from the family, and restrict their biological father from seeing Chris after reading his record of crimes, a live of drinking and playing and at the wish of Chris himself.

Saying that Leon wanted to kick his aunt and uncle was not even near to what he felt after getting that all out.

Not to mention that he wanted to wring the neck of his old man for abandoning their mother, twice and then go and do such a stunt on Chris! His cousins, the older and the younger one got so disgusted with their own family that the elder of the two requested to have her sister and moved away from their mother and father in the end. Being not old enough, another aunt took on both. She lived in Seattle, far enough away for both to have a halfway normal life again.

Both aunt and uncle now had to pay the money back to Chris and he had made the request to be placed into Leon's care. After a while thinking, they headed his plea since Leon had him in the past before too and seemingly had done a good job and cared very well for his daughter too.

Currently, one Leon Orcrot tried to rebuild his gun on his living room carpet.

Daiyu was asleep, the room for Chris ready, he was set… the damn gun made a fuzz as always!

With a curse the resisting piece of tech ended up behind the couch were Leon had thrown it in his anger and a few curses on its way. Luckily, Leon didn't wake Daiyu with his outburst. He hated it when something wasn't cooperating. Standing the blond stepped up to the balcony to step out and look over the ocean.

Outside he could hear the faint chirping of birds in the nearby park.

He often took Daiyu to it to walk long round with her there or to run with her baby sport carriage in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Needless to say that many mothers noted the fit cop and father early on. Much to his chagrin.

He now learned that if he kept his temper in check, that he was fairly attractive.

Sad that it was too late now, Leon mused. Count D had ruined him for any other relationships in a matter of speaking forever. He had a hard time to come to terms with what the old guy in Bangkok had told him about his attractions to the Kami. What wasn't even unheard of, from the old guy's point of view. Only that Leon had escaped the outlaid snare was it actually.

He could have very well ended up as a mate or more so, dead.

The most humans dealing with deities such as the counts had died in the past. Vescar Howell had come to Leon's mind and had made him appreciate his luck to have escaped in a sense. At least, from such a fate D had spared him from. Narrowly as it had been, as he now realized it: much, much later. He had only talked with Jill about this all, up to now. She being the only person he did fully trust enough to not call him a lunatic and having seen enough to understand him at least a little.

She had given him the wisest advice he had gotten in many years: Stay away from anything remotely connected to D.

And Leon did. He stopped even thinking of him for a while, what helped Leon cope with it all in a way. Now, with time in between, Leon could tell that D had wanted him to chase him. so he could what in the end? Catch Leon? Having him catch D?

Catch each other?

Who knew, for all Leon had understood until now, he could have vanished from earth in the end and that thought made him shudder slightly. The old monk had made sure that Leon knew how dangerous his situation had grown in the end. He had nearly been lost in a sense of speaking. If D hadn't thrown him from the ship, he would have been kept there forever, or even be dead.

To never see Chris or Jill again? To live only surrounded by D's animals? Never to be free again, only living in the dark halls of that scary shop?

That had fast done the trick for Leon. He had snipped off the most treats of the weaver's carefully woven net and had gone the other way. The only sane thing to do at that time. He leaned angrily against the balustrade and scowled. He wasn't an animal that D could tame, damnit! He was a human being that needed fresh air, needed his freedom and his family and yes, his work too.

He was good at what he did. The records proved this daily to Leon.

He early on had recognized Daiyu's mother for what the poor prostitute had been. An outlet on his obsession on D. She had been slender looking, almost like a male. That had done the trick in his befuddled mind real fast. Now having their daughter to care for was humiliating him in a way. It also was healing him in many more ways to even name them all.

Daiyu reminded him that he was alive, breathing and still, Leon in the end.

Even being an accident, he loved her dearly already. Did show that everyday and did plan to do so for the rest of his days. With a sigh of defeat Leon closed his eyes and realized something that he had put off for a long time now. Had refused to accept and had ignored it with a passion bordering on insanity.

He had finally grown up.

The old monk had known about the D's and their work, as one could call it thus.

That knowledge alone had alarmed the old man so much that he had taken his time to explain Leon into what trouble he had nearly gotten himself into. He was it who had told Leon their story from another perspective. It was still mostly the same but with one important twist.

They had become vengeance deities after the murder of their fellow deities in the end. It certainly explained Papa D to Leon, alright. That one had gone nuts from his duty and his love for the agent in the very end. Hearing Leon's role in the Kami's dead the old monk had nearly fainted. All the more the better, he had told Leon after calming down again, that he had escaped the youngest of their race!

He would have become a price possession otherwise for them.

Someone that they would have used for their own purposes and changed until he would have become equally revengeful as the deities themselves. As a punishment for him and the humans they would have taken his humanity from Leon most likely and that was that. Better not knowing what else, Leon thought wryly to himself.

To meddle with the affairs of such beings never ended well for mortals, the old one had told Leon.

He knew this to be all too true. Had seen what D's pets had done to their customers and they to them in some cases. He knew, they could step back and be kind in some rare cases, the girl and her horse were a good example for this fact. But in other times, it mostly ended in an full blown disaster when a mortal crossed the path of an immortal like the D's.

Another girl, Monica came to Leon's mind and he bit his lip deep in thought.

That smile that day… he had always known it was a true one. D had really found pleasure in her end, but not for the thought of reasons, Leon now realized. Rather the deity had laughed at the irony and had been truly happy that the girl now could move on. And also that he had not to deal with her anymore, not because he had wanted her dead this time but simply because Monica wasn't what D had wanted nor needed in his life.

A lost soul, reborn over and over again. He had been glad that she had ended her journey of pain and short lives and was gone now.

It still shocked Leon thought. The utter carelessness as well the relieve he had seen in D's eyes that day. Plus the coldness that made Leon shiver until today. Standing directly in the sun as he did now.

All of it had been a kind of warning bell for Leon not to come to close to the deity that was D.

He wished now he had headed it in the past, Leon knew one day this all would come back to him and bite him in the ass! He just knew it. His instincts never failed him in his life before and would not do so now. This entire thing wasn't over and he feared the day the Kami would make up his bloody mind and come to check on him. When finding out that his supposed prey had simply shown him its hint legs a while ago and run the other way with all the speed it could muster.

Now Leon couldn't help to chuckle madly at his own trail of thoughts.

He bet his badge that D's face would be priceless if he ever found out that Leon had not done what he was supposed to do and for once, had taken an advice of D to the heart! Still laughing softly to himself, the highly decorated police officer went back inside and closed the doors securely before he went to warm up Daiyu's food for her when she woke up. Outside a pair of Doves watched the young man do his tasks with watchful eyes. To the world they both looked like birds, pretty ones at that. If seen with the eyes of other creatures the duo looked like a pair of beautiful young men, clothed in splendid garb of high quality and wearing each a ring of pure gold around one naked ankle.

One had grey hair the other white and both had wings of the same color.

To their surprise the detective noticed them almost immediately after they had land on his balcony and even went to give them some fine breadcrumbs and some water out. He had… grown, their Kami's detective, both noticed with wide eyes. Had become even more beautiful as before. Was more settled into his world and work and live. Successful even if one could take the hints from his current occupation and the stile of interior he had decorated his flat with.

And married and a father, from the looks of it!

Uh oh, both thought at the same time, their Kami would not like the last tidbit much, so much was sure. The baby girl was adorable and cute, both agreed on that. Having already, even as a little wee one, inherited the good looks of her father, the blue eyed little angel smiled with the innocence of a well cared for child at the surprised birds outside the big window frames.

What struck both speechless was the pesky fact that she had clear Asian features that blended rather beautifully with Leon's European ones.

Both shared a stunned look but couldn't help it in the end to smile back at the giggling child when Leon came over with her on the arm to show her the two beautiful birds on their balcony. She giggled and cooed and smiled widely at them the entire time Leon held her, both noticed the love that showed in his blue eyes when watching his little daughter.

There were two picture frames with a black ribbons around them on a nearby altar.

It was clearly Asian stile, an altar for deceased loved ones that many Asian cultures had in their houses. Onto it stood two frames, both showing woman. One was an old faded one with a younger Leon hugging an elderly woman that looked eerily like him. his mother both fast concluded and looked at the second one. It showed the picture of a maybe twenty something old woman.

Her face wasn't very feminine but still somewhat captivating and it showed clear lines that they could trace in that of the baby already too.

Suddenly both looked rather carefully around in Leon's rooms anew. Finding only traces of the man and the child in it both concluded fast that she was the mother and dead. Now the duo felt uncomfortable for thinking that this was a good thing, well for Leon it was. One never knew what D would have done to her for stealing what the Kami had marked as his.

Still, she had given Leon a child and for that she already had earned a kind of redemption, even D would have respected that. Both knew this too.

The girl, she would not be harmed, an extra price if anything. The little one would be safe with their caretaker. Hell, the animals would love to have the little one to cuddle and spoil given time. She was clearly a pure soul as the brash man that was her father was it and as Chris was it too. Both silently mused if it was something in that specific family line that turned out good souls? They did not know for sure but both agreed on it that it could be.

Their family was too uncommon for having it otherwise.

Cheer chance did not happen soo often in one family line to make such a vital point to the outside. They suspected that the woman on the picture with Leon had been a good soul too. She looked like it, even to them. Some smaller shoes in a corner made them aware that Leon lived with another child here. Not much else was to see but the bird men got curios.

Snooping around for a bit while flying from window to window they soon found the ready room for Chris next to the baby room and were astonished to find it furnished with many things that they recognized from Chris time spend inside the shops halls.

There was a basketball that the boy had been given on that Christmas looking well used. A gift from Leon of course. He had even gone and played it often with Chris in the park. Another death give away were the pictures that the boy had framed and that now hung on the wall over his bed in a kind of artistic mural. They did not know that Leon had done this for Chris, that he too had kept them safe from his aunt to not be destroyed in her single minded way to erase Chris time with Leon and D this way.

He had framed them on Chris plea and had hung them up.

Now the entire wall, bottom to top was one big picture book of crayon and other medium drawings. Some newer, some older. But all showed animals of D's shop as human beings in exotic dresses or poses. He had gotten better with time, the shapes were now clearly recognizable to the duo of male doves.

Purring softly both watched the room for the boy before they contemplated what they had found out until now.

It was much more as they had bargained for. The man had settled back into his life with grace and aplomb. D would have a hard time to weave his net back around the human. Somehow, Leon had done the unthinkable and had gotten out of it. How, both had not fucking clue but that he had. Chuckling to themselves both had the insight to give Leon the credit that he deserved for always having been good for surprises when D was concerned in the past!

It was an rather unspoken and written law of nature when it came to dealings with one Leon Orcrot as it looked.

Again the American had managed the unheard off and had done something no one had thought of that he would, he had followed an advice for once! Their hilarity knew no bounds for a while. Even knowing that D would not find this comical the slightest, had he not firmly believed to have Leon in his grasp at the end of a two years span until the time had come and gone.

Without Leon showing up as planed! Instead a picture frame had been sent to him from an unknown address.

After another year with no Leon on their doors, even after giving him hints via the news and other mediums, D had sent out spies to find out what his detective was up to. The two birds had found him in LA after some searching. In the same city as he had lived in before. With a family as it looked and being pretty happy and successful to boot.

Nope, their Kami would soo not like to hear their report!

Suryallee


	2. Chapter 2

Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D!

(KAMI, a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(DAIYU (黛玉). Chinese name for girls, meaning "black jade," from (黛) tai4 1306a "black, umber, to paint the eyebrows," and (玉) yü4 1685c "jade, jewels; beautiful, precious." (A Mandarin-Romanized Dictionary of Chinese, MacGillivray, 1921).)

(DOVES, a common bird from all over the world. Mostly seen as a pest in bigger cities because they grow fast in numbers. Can be the transmitter for illnesses since they eat practically everything from the streets and trash cans if given the chance. In some cities they even lay out poison traps to reduce the numbers. Come in many races, mostly through selected breeding by humans)

(HELLDOG, a beast of old folklore and European myths, origin in Greece mythology as a guardian of the doors to the underworld. Also known for hunting down souls of mortals who dare to cross their domains. Known for guarding demons and sometimes vampires and in some cases even to guard Gods if needed in European legends.)

**Chapter two: Misery loves company **

Leon prided himself to be a simple man.

He didn't need many of the crap that most in his age or position seem to be so fond of. He lead a simple life, had a minivan as a car, with a handful real friends that he cared for, a good work atmosphere and a wonderful little daughter and brother. Got his paycheck regularly and bills paid each month also.

What else could one want from life as to lead a good one?

As it looked, his colleague Sanderson had seen his live goals differently, despising having a wonderful wife and two sons. He had begun to play poker in the late and had lost a fortune to card sharks in the end. They had milked him until they could press him into giving out information's about certain officers and their families and when he had served his purpose, they had shot him.

Sadly, they murdered his family too.

And several high ranking officers in the line of duty including his friend Jonah and his pregnant wife Deborah Lewys. Leaving only their four years old daughter alive since the little girl had been sick and at the hospital at the time.

Now the FBI swarmed their offices and the houses of the victims while Leon was sincerely glad that he had chosen to live inside a guarded tower of the upper class and that he had paid his security bills each month. As costly as they were each month, they had rescued his family from being murdered tonight!

He had a crying Jill in his arms on his couch while a well known agent to Leon and her told him and Jill about the deaths of their friends and that of their families in the last night.

It had been a bigger raid of several gangs and groups of the underground of LA and around to get rid of an excellent police force that actually worked for once. Their old chief had been under the murder victims too. It was hard to swallow for Leon that Jill had only survived the big attack by having slept here overnight after their last nights taking the children out to a fancy restaurant and then having drunk to much wine together to drive home alone.

She lived in the suburbs of LA.

Had inherited a small house there from her parents, now blown up by a bomb. Luckily for the woman she had taken Leon's earlier advice two years back and had spend a big amount of money on an insurance for police officers that dealt ravaged property in the line of their jobs. It was rather costly but she still had taken aside the money each month and paid it up.

Now it would serve her well.

The regulator of the company back then had labeled her house as extra safe, since she had locks on everything from all alone. It had even been build earthquake safe, now a bomb had ended the cozy little house and with it, almost her life too.

This nights sleepover had saved her live.

They all got woken from the security alarm of the building when someone had tried to get entry to the guarded house without success. The guards here were good, old police force the most and even some came from the army. They had made a rather short work on the mobsters and had rung Leon out of his bed when getting it that this was an attempt on his life.

Then the agents had arrived and all went downhill from there.

Said agent felt rather badly for the cops on the couch. He knew Orcrot and Peterson personally, prided himself with being one of the twos few friends. The two often helped him and his fellow agents out freely, were two of the few cops that had nothing against it to work with an agent. Did splendid jobs in keeping the citizen safe and so on. Now, her crying mixed with the sobs of the young brother of captain Orcrot who looked rather lost at the sheer number of victims under his coworkers and their families and all the time he held his little daughter close to him.

When the first tears run silently down his face, Hellersen and his fellow agents turned to give them all the needed time to grief in peace for their lost friends and their families.

Outside the two birds looked rather spooked at the scenery. In all the time they knew the battle hardened cops, none of them had ever cried like this. The dead humans meant nothing to them, other as that their lost lives brought the two humans and little Chris pain. After a while seeing this both took off to give their report to the waiting Kami inside the newly re-opened shop in Chinatown.

Both were rather certain that there would be hell to pay for the culprits duo time.

No one meddled with the affairs of the counts without to feel their retribution in return. And the Orcrot's and the officer Peterson belonged to the affairs of the D's, surely as the new day would break in a few hours. The current count holding the shop had been rather confused when he had heard what Leon had been up to in the last years.

He had checked on the origin of the woman and found out her sad story right away. It had rather pleased him that Leon had taken upon his responsibilities and had taken in the daughter of them both. Had coed when he found a picture from her in his researched material. As the two had thought it before, the little baby had nothing to fear from him. and neither of the animals. Tetsu had just stated that she looked rather cute enough to eat what had earned him twin glares from the Kami's and more than one slap from various animals.

Also the story of Chris living with Leon again he had found out… that one had actually angered not only D in the end. The older count had thrown a rather unusual fit, the Totetsu had gone on a violent trip outside and even the nine tails had been bad company for days after hearing the full story.

The Badger called Pon Chan had cried for days and the entire shop had been eerily quiet. So much in fact, WuFei had nearly a heart attack when coming in the next day and being growled and hissed at from each animal in the shop! Not knowing what to make of it, the man had left right away again. D, he had been rather still before he had begun to silently pack up the interior of the shop.

In between he had talked with Honlon and then gone to retrieve an animal from the deeps of the shop that made even Ten Chan bristle his fur in unease when seeing the bizarre bird.

It had been one of the harpies that the D had in their ship, the most vicious of them all as far as Ten knew and he had been warily staring at the beast until the night came and the elder count had taken her out with him to let her fly away to her destination. She was sent after Leon's aunt and uncle but not after their daughters.

The two girls had been spared from the wrath of the deities.

When Tetsu came in again, bloody and his fur full with dirt and other unpleasant stuff, he had been commanded to take a bath and then come to help. No one had said something. All had silently readied the ship and had left Tokyo a few nights later.

And now this!

Both doves had been chosen to further observe Leon and his little rag-tack group of a family for the Kami's. They naturally rose little suspicion and were rather pleasant company for the little girl until Chris arrived and squinted oddly at them. When he did it, both had gone into hiding. Better not have Leon shoot at them otherwise both thought.

But he gave them only a shrug when finding them back on the neighboring balustrade and that was that.

So far he had even feed them as before, they gradually eased back onto his much to the sadness of the elderly couple next door to the cop. What ended in the two telling the common city doves about them. What soon had flocks of doves suddenly show up on the old couples balcony. Much to the twos happiness and the house owners dislike. But nothing much happened to solve the situation.

The old couple was the parental pair of the building owner and so everyone looked the other way for once.

Leon never really got aware of it all, to busy he was with settling Chris in his new live and school and doing his job. When the two birdmen reached the shop both were out of breath. On a small TV played the news. Watched from the inhabitants of the shop and the D's with thunderous gazes. The most frightening of all was that of the Taotie in their middle.

Tetsu's face reminded them both onto a thundercloud when he snarled at them.

"Explain what is going on! They are better not dead!" On the screen was shortly Leon's and Jill's faces to see. Naming them as two survivors of the entire debacle by luck to have been in a safely guarded house and at the home of the Orcrot's. The news started that one guard of the house was injured and another two had secured the invaders before the FBI had arrived.

Named Leon one of the leading captains of the formerly productive police force that now had over ten losses to mourn for as well as a high number of their family members killed in the attacks. It was a big assault that would be answered with as much power possible as the department could use to be still in the borders of the law.

D looked rather spooked when the two cops names fell from the lips of the narrator.

Then utterly relieved when they were named as two of the survivors of the round up assail of several crime groups this night. Obviously, the two most wanted on their lists had escaped unharmed. With Leon being the main target of the attackers since he had been the tactical head behind the most of the last years attacks against the syndicates.

It wasn't a success, it was a failure and the bosses of the syndicates knew it.

As well as D did know it. Not in his wildest dreams had he ever thought that Leon would become such a high-quality cop and even person in charge of his own group! Sure, the instincts of Leon had proven all over that he was one of the best in his line of duty but this excellent?

Now he had a prize on his head from his enemies and his group that he had build up in the last years had been nearly demolished in a way that did also sicken the Kami known as D.

Angrily he shut off the TV and too turned to the birds who had settled back into their true form, kneeling in front of the two Kami's to show their fealty to them as well as their devotion. The older of the duo soon made their report. Clinically and calm he listed up the last nights events as well as the entire last weeks before D had arrived back here.

Ending with the side note that Jill would now staying at Leon's for the time being. Since her insurance would take a while to pay up the money.

Predictably for the next weeks to come, D shrugged it off while several animals grinned at the news. All the more the easier for them to take them all, they concluded as well as the Kami did it. She was after all, part of their goals here. Had Jill not been still so close to Leon, he would have long given up and had followed their original plans for him and his family.

Since she had, she had signed herself over in return.

As had a number of other persons had done it unknowingly in just being a point for Leon and Chris to be still attached to them. It held them in this world and all would be dealt with. One or the other way, it mattered not to the beasts and neither to D. In the end their Kami's would get whatever they wanted, no matter what others did to prevent that.

D had found out about the monk in Bangkok too.

After a long talk with him, the old man had relented and would now stop to meddle in D's affairs. He had been actually honestly concerned for the cop. That had saved his life, that and that he was simply a pious man, following the rules of the gods. Even the Kami's did not touch holy men such as the elderly monk.

He had their respect all the more since he sincerely had only tried to help Leon.

D could deal with that. He would no longer interferer and that was all to it. His family would prosper further, all of them were good people too. There was no need for punishment found in any of them. A rather rare treat these days. One of the younger great grand nephews had even gotten a rare pet from D.

One that would keep the youngster safe and out of trouble.

Here now, D was confronted with some foolish men who thought that they could lay a hand on his humans and get away with it? Ridiculous, unheard off! Who did these crime bosses think that they were? His mind was already busy to file out a plan to get each one of them. It would take him little effort and even less trouble to make them all fall in the end.

After all, they did not realize it with what they were dealing here anyways. So why bother and teach them manners?

There had been, to the uttermost surprise of the FBI, not a single crime boss of the triads under the groups that had made the attacks. As far as they could tell, the triads and Chinese mafia in general had held rather back and itself out of the entire thing. Some had even let them know that they had absolutely nothing to do with this. Maybe, agent Dean Hellersen thought, a side effect of Orcrot's early doings in Chinatown as a detective? He wasn't sure, only that none of those groups as well as none of the other Asian related groups were involved.

They all had distanced themselves painfully away from it all, why was a miracle. They had their own code of honor the young agent finally realized and left it at that for the time being.

Right now, he had a longer talk with his betters and had just given in his reports. The were not happy with the little he could show. Leon had build up one of the few really good and honorable groups in the last years. A group that now had to survive such violently taken out of many friends and colleagues. It pained the agent how badly they all had been shaken. No wonder thought, Dean understood that very well. His heart felt with the survivors and they all would get support. Psychological and physiological and also in the money department but what did that mean to them in the end. Not much he surmised sadly, well understanding that this al could never replace the lost ones.

If Leon's group survived this ordeal, they would be stronger but also marked for life.

Leaving the FBI building in which his research center lay in, the young agent went to do the many legwork that his job brought with it, even being an agent of the FBI. He had worked with Leon Orcrot and his group in the past two years. Knew the man as highly reliable, honest and strong willed… to have seen him cry so silently had broken something in Dean.

Mumbling curses under his breath at the murders of Leon's men and woman he stepped into Chinatown to ask some of the triad bosses for information's. They had been uncommonly helpful since the entire thing had happened. Trying to get their feed into new areas, no doubt about it, but also: they all had shown a strange respect for Orcrot and his team in the past.

Not even when he had taken down some of their businesses, they had attacked the cop.

As if they feared him or did respect him greatly. It was too outlandish. Dean could make no heads nor tails out of the info's given to him. Shaking it off, the young agent went on his way. a mask of grim determination on his features. He would find out who had done this to his friends and hell or heaven in trying to deter him from it!

Unknown to Dean, a rather shaggy looking black dog followed him unknowingly through the streets of Chinatown.

Seemingly belonging to no one here the dog was cleverly staying out of his eyes while never leaving his trail. Watching what the agent was doing the dog, a rather unkempt looking fellow with black fur and a long body frame and almost black eyes, followed Dean around for the rest of the day. All under the scared eyes of the citizen of Chinatown.

Finally having enough evidence the dog turned tail and went back to his master to tell D all about the agent and his knowledgeable research.

That man did actually a rather first-rate job, the dog thought. He was clever in asking Leon's supporters in Chinatown personally rather as sending in a troupe of agents. The agent had done so with openly respecting them but staying firm at the same moment. His mumbles about Leon and miss Jill had gotten the dog's attention in the beginning.

Now the dog was glad he had followed the cute human around.

He wore a rather suspicious collar that marked him as a pet of the D's to the people in Chinatown easily. No one had held him off or had called the authorities to catch Khan. His rather large frame he had hidden fairly well despise him being not the smallest dog on the planet. Even in this harmless looking form, compared to his real ones. Now Khan had to tell D about his little find.

He grinned a toothy grin when he ended his report to the Kami who in turn gave him a thoughtful look.

"Say, Khan, how would you like it to become an owned dog for a while?" D's smirk was positively frightening right this moment, the red eyed dog didn't mind. Rather Khan let his momentary mask fall away until a rather scary looking form of a large dog, seemingly made of large fiery shadows stood in its place that in turn, turned into that of a tall man with blazing red eyes.

"Oh? Depends on the *title-holder*…I guess?"

Next to Khan, Tetsu snorted rather loudly at the retort of the helldog. Normally lower ranks of such dogs were owned by high ranking demons or vampires to guard them. Not many could stand the company of such as Khan for longer as a short time. Supernatural creatures like the formerly mentioned could.

To survive to own them was an entirely other matter.

He was a hellspawn, a kind of archaic dog demon. One of the most dangerous creatures of the myths and as such in the shop. One of the D's most priced occasional possessions. Closely related to the mythical guardians of the underworld, Khan was one of the most dangerous under his kin. His name was actually the name of his rank in the seven hells and beyond, not just a name.

He was a full-fledged Demon lord.

He had earned his title in long suffering battles under his kin and against other demons. Had even an own territory in the planes of hell, or whatever a mortal perceived as them. Not every hell was the same, some could be rather good places to be in. His plane was related to the fiery realms of them and in his natural form, his dark flames often showed in the mists that made his body in this earthly plane of the mortal realm.

Normally he came only when summoned from the D's.

What was rather rare an occurrence since not many mortals were that bad that they deserved a beast like them. However, he had come from alone this time to have a peek at the humans in this time for a while. It amused him always anew to what follies they were capable off and maybe, he could find a new soul to torment on the way. So far his luck had been rather meager, what annoyed him deeply, despise feeling the many of tainted souls constantly around him.

The dual gaze of the younger count seem to size him up in his current form before he suddenly nodded slowly to himself.

"I would like to ask you for a favor returned, my friend, if that is agreeable to you?"

That had Khan sit up and pay attention to the deity. He owned the D's a few of them, as did the most others in the hells and other planes of existence. He would love to repay them. It always meant for Khan to have rather rare chances to let loose in the human world for a span of time. Looking eagerly at the count he grinned. A slow and ferocious looking thing that gave him death away as something otherworldly to the other animals in the shop.

Neighing his head he let D know that he was interested.

"What would you ask of me?" D looked rather nonplussed at the show and in the end the deity smiled as dangerously as the helldog. "Oh, not much, I fear but just a little observing and watching out for my interests?" The hellspawn thought about it. He had an inkling of what the count had running through the pretty head of his.

"It concerns the agent I followed today."

He surmised and got another nod in return. "Yes. He is off limits for you, we both know this. He has a pure soul and as such a human being, he is safe from your brethren and you. But I have the feeling that the poor young man has the same extraordinary questionable luck as my Leon has it. If you understand me inklings?" The hellspawn nodded amused. Oh, alright, Khan did understand very well here.

He had smelled the pureness on the man right away.

For such as him, such souls were like catnip. Impossible to resist even knowing they could never have them until they made a grave error that opened the door for such as him so to speak. Then they often got unpleasant company such as Khan that tried to drag them into the other realms very fast to keep them there. Such souls were not tormented or hurt, they were well cared for and trophy assets of the demon lords who got a hold on them.

Not many knew of the dual nature of these things in the mortal coils.

"I want you to shadow him, literally if possible. He has the names I want to know. He has the knowledge that I desire and will most likely gain even more with the following days. He is valuable and as such he will surely get into trouble and then I want you to be there and keep him out of it. I need him alive, he is a dear friend of my lion."

The demonic dog nodded slowly.

As such a friend the count would likely take that one too with him when he went collecting the mortals that he had marked as worthy to be saved. There had been severer discussions between the vengeance deities in the late years. The most had run over special humans in the last two centuries that had left them wonder if there was something going on with the race in general. Turned out, there was but not in an positive aspect as hoped.

Such as Leon, Jill, Chris and even Dean had turned out to be just more easily spotted under the masses of sinners in the late. Such humans stood out that badly that they drew attention from the worst ones of their race that much, that even the deities could not stand to simply watch it for longer. In some rare cases one or two had already been removed from the human race forever.

Even the D's had such a human already inside their shop-ship. A Japanese boy turned dog, what had been a rather strange turn of events but made the others of the deities think about their vengeance duty considering the entire race in general. To have to admit that not all were bad had been a shock for the deities and vengeance ghosts that had resulted in their want to take some of them under their protection, willingly or not.

A prospect that had Khan laugh inwardly at the irony.

Once done, he could set on pestering the agent with having all time of the world on his paws. Dean Hellersen was fueling his interest out of a point Khan did not really understand, other as only being a pure being. He like that Leon fellow would give the D's hell when being taken, Khan could almost hear the ruckus already. His chaos nature relished in the mayhem that would cause.

He nodded one time.

"How will you accomplish it to have a untainted soul like his take on a tainted helldog like me? If I may ask, Count. Highly unlikely that he would ever chose such a evil spirit as me as a regular pet knowingly, count. With all due respect, he will instinctually run away from my mere presence and we both know this to be the plain truth."

The Kami across of Khan laughed at his rather rounded estimation of the truth of the situation.

Next to the helldog, Tetsu laughed too. He and Khan had that in common. Not many humans wanted to have something to do with either of the beasts. He being a Taotie and Khan being a demon in the disguise of a dog. In his true form, Khan had quite a few heads like Honlon that literally spit fire and acid smokes when he spoke. Like the underworld guardians that he was related to, Khan was a mythical demonic beast and highly hazardous for humans to be associated with.

Tetsu in turn was a man-eating beast, a kind of half deity with the same troublesome problem to drag humans to their demise when having to do with his nature for longer spans of time. Some myths called him gluteus and possessive. But Tetsu could also mean protection and fuel the imagination of artists if he wanted it. He was like a double edged sword, needing a lot care when wielded and being associated with.

Khan on the other hand always meant nothing but trouble to a human as long that one wasn't a rare pure soul. Like the idiot Orcrot or that agent were it, that was. Such run by mere sight of Khan and such as him if they had their brains in the right order. Or gods forbid it, they would try to stay and fight them off their plane of existence. Some, like the idiot, as Tetsu called Leon Orcrot, could even succeed and had done already in the past.

Khan knew as much, hence his problem how to get Hellersen to take him home and with him wherever he went.

No matter what form he would take, the agent would know by intuition alone that he was something otherworldly and demonic. Today had proved that already. Even not seeing Khan following him, the man had instinctually often looked behind him and had scratched his neck in his confusion of having his gut feeling screaming at him that something dangerous followed him around.

D just shrugged.

"I have means and methods to make that happen if I wish it. Rest assured of that and in this case I know a way to have him still take on you, even instinctually knowing at least halfway what you are." At Khan's wide-eyed look he smirked. "And how exactly, may I ask again, will you accomplish that?" D smiled thinly back at the obviously confused hellspawn.

"Oh, rather simply, I will leave the good man no choice in the matter.

Right now he is followed by one of the spies of the mafia boss that the humans call Toni Calletti here in LA. He is one of the ones I have made out so far that had their hands in this all. I do not care about the soul of that man, he is doomed one way or the other. However, Hellersen is unknowing of it that he wants the agent out of the picture. Not likening it that he found out so much in only a few hours by asking politely at the right sources. Clever man, that Dean Hellersen."

Khan listened carefully. "Go on." He told the Kami before he took the offered cup of tea and sipped at it.

"It is rather simple. I…overheard a conversation?" At the grin and short nod of the helldog that he understood fully, D went on. "I want you to do the following, if it pleases you…"

Dean Hellersen wasn't a happy camper right now.

He had just barely managed it to escape a tried murder on his person with difficulty on his way out of Chinatown! The attacker was clearly not Asian origin, rather more Italian if he wasn't on the wrong path and that left only a handful people to have ordered such a brazen thing in the first place. Right after such an attack on the police department not many would dare such a thing with their brains still working.

He knew obviously too much for some of them.

Dean had left a short message on his not correctly working cell phone in case that he could not get loose of his follower and had thrown it into a city post of the local police that was not manned at this time of the night. It would be checked on surely in the next hours and then the phone would be found with his hasty message included. Out of some unknown point, it had lost signal since a while.

He could not use it to call for help and it angered Dean to no ends to actually have a phone and not, in a matter of speaking.

Until then, Dean had to find a hideout in a city part that was almost unknown to him and without a weapon in hand. His he had left at his workplace as was it the rule, now he cursed his bad luck. A cat, suddenly nearly tripping him on his way made him almost curse at it but he stopped himself from it.

It wasn't the animals fault that he had been distracted.

Quickly the man went into an alleyway only to discover an dead end. This time Dean cursed softly. Next to his left was the entry to a Pet shop. The lights were still on, maybe the owner was still in? He could ask for the phone to use it to call for reinforces, he made up his mind. Stumbling down the stairs the agent was soon at the doors.

To his relieve they were still open and he barged into the shop with ease.

"Sorry to intrude at this hour and in this manner but for the love of god, please I need to use your telephone! It is urgent!" Showing the slightly shocked looking Chinese shopkeeper his badge he was soon shown the phone. Dialing, Dean addressed the shopkeeper again.

"Please mister, close the doors and go and hide under or in something. There is a criminal following me and it is better you stay out of his line of sight!" The man behind him just shook his head before he pointed down to his rather big and strangely dangerous looking beast of a dog calmly.

"I don't think that it is necessary, agent. You can believe me if I dare say, the intruder should think twice to attack me in my own home. Dean gave the Chinese man a begging look. "Please! That guy tried to kill me, he would not stop at a shopkeeper Mr.?" The effeminate man across of him smiled. "D, actually only D and you are?"

Dean found the number he had dialed out of working and cursed a short moment before he tried another.

"Uh, I am agent Dean Hellersen, sir. Please, I must order you then to head me, even I don't really like to do so but for your own safety I have to!" At that the man called D finally seem to carve in and went to the shops doors to close them and then went to a more sturdy looking door in the back to vanish behind it. Before he did he addressed the Agent again.

"I will leave Khan here with you, Mr. Hellersen. He is a excellent trained guard dog, trust me in this. No harm will befall you under his protection."

Before Dean could say something the man was gone and he was alone with the terrifying dog. Eying it for a moment warily he finally shrugged his unease off and again called another number. What was it with the phones today?! All numbers called seemed to suddenly be out of working, had the net broken down? Only he had such a bad luck, Dean told to himself and rubbed his face. Until morning when he could see his attacker to outwit the man he was stuck in here… with that mountain of an intimidating dog to boot!

Finally giving up he hung up and turned to the dog.

Only to find out that the beast had come near to him and was now sitting calmly at his feat! He almost jumped away from it when seeing the dog sitting there innocently out of the sudden. "Gyah! Darn it! You are a silent one, aren't you? Giving me almost a heart attack you did, dang it. Uhh, nice doggy?" He slowly edged away from the beast. Almost hoping the owner would come back and take this huge creature away with him.

Something on that dog was making his stomach turn into knots and had Dean break out in sweat from an unknown fear.

At his outburst the beast seemed almost to laugh outright at him. Dean scowled and slapped himself. "Oh fuck! I sound like a lunatic!" This time the dog barked loudly one time as if it was agreeing with him here. He gave the dog a wry smile. "Nice knowing that you agree with me here buddy but could you move a bit? To be blatantly honest you scare the shit out of me!"

To his astonishment the dog really did what he had asked it and seem to move away and over to the couches in the center of the shop.

There it jumped onto one and settled down calmly. Then it went its unnerving gaze back to the poor agent who still tried out numbers before he gave it up fully with a mumbled curse. Normally Dean was a dog kind of person. He loved them, had even one once that he had lost when the dog became pretty old and had died.

But this fellow gave him the creeps!

Something seemed to be almost otherworldly on this particular beast. Almost as if it was demonic origin? He slapped himself again for thinking such and finally walked slowly over to the table and the couches himself. Sitting down on the opposite couch after having dimmed the lights he thought his situation through. With a little luck, his attacker would not find him in here, even maybe give up.

Looking back at the large dog he found it staring at him out of red, yes red eyes.

He felt another crew of ants run down his spine. It was too eerie! Suddenly the dog rose and without to give Dean any chance to escape in time, simply jumped over the distance of the table over to him and had settled already next to the shocked Dean before the man knew what had hit him. With his head put into the mans lap.

Butting his head against a frozen hand the dog made clear that it wanted to be petted.

Making a face Dean gave it up and did so. He found the dog uncommonly hot to his touch but else the dog was just calmly breathing and even closed its eyes in delight when his scratches got bolder.

The big thing seem to relish in the attention that it got. Sniggering a bit to himself Dean suddenly found the beast not so scary anymore as before. At least the big guy was giving him company.

He went on to thoroughly scratch and pet the large dog that soon seem to become a puddle under his knowing hands.

Unknowingly to Dean, Khan enjoyed himself immensely! The human knew pretty well how to scratch and pet a dog just right to have any dog want to crawl up in his lap to get more. He laughed silently to himself. This went better as expected. Dean was distracted enough for him to use it to his advantage and secretly scent mark him. A sudden small sound in the alleyway outside made him pay attention again. He had felt the tainted aura of the man draw near since a while now.

Dean still bleed slightly out of a wound caused by a stray bullet. It hat not hit him directly, just graced the agent on one arm.

Still, the helldog was miffed that his human had been hurt. Dean wasn't even armed, curse it! The owner of the tainted soul walked now slowly down the staircase leading to the shops doors. The hellspawn decided to act like a normal dog and suddenly got up. In his mind he cussed up a storm for having to stop Dean from petting him!

The sudden moving up and low growling of the dog got Dean out of his reverie in under a second.

Instinctually he grabbed for his gun before he remembered to have left it in the office. Cussing softly he took stock of the interior of the pet shop he was in to find a weapon to use. Seeing a longer staff alike object to his left he stood carefully and bend to take it from the holder. He never saw the man suddenly breaking through the doors of the shop.

Neither did he ever see the dog paw that sent him flying into the pillar that held the staff, head first. He was out like a light in under a second.

What followed, Dean too never got aware off, luckily or else he would have had nightmares for countless nights to come from it in the future. Because as soon as Khan felt the human lose his awareness he changed. Smirking at the petrified human that had barged into the sacrosanct halls of the ship before he calmly walked over to the man without to care much for the bullets that flew around his ears.

None of them even hit him, even aimed directly at Khan, they still somehow went another way.

The man cursed in Italian before he turned and gave tails to the demonic creature that advanced on him. He never managed to make one step back into the direction of the doors. Before he could, the shadows that were Khan in reality had taken a hold on him and slowly begun to rip the man apart. The hellspawn relished in each cry and scream and beg of the man and took his time to kill the wanabe murder of Dean Hellersen.

In the end he devoured the soul of the man slowly too, the screams of the soul were unbearable but the human at his feet never woke from them. He was protected from it all by the D's magic.

In the end, nothing, not even a corpse was left to find.

A bloody trail lead out of the doors and up the stairs out of the sudden. In truth, it was magic that made it, the actual man had never even reached them. But for the shortly after arriving police it looked like the dog had chased him away from its supposedly new owner. None of them felt good in the presence of the beast that seem to guard the agent until the shop owner came out from the back.

When Dean awoke much later he found out that he had acquired a new dog… although he couldn't remember having bought that beast in the slightest!

When reaching home, he did call the shop, only to find that the phone problem was still in work. He cursed and turned to the beast in his living room that was currently gnawing on a bone. "Oh hell! What am I supposed to do with you now, eh? How did he call you? Khan? Damnit it suits you, you look like one anyways, no matter what: you will go back home tomorrow! And that's it."

Khan just smirked at Dean in his animal way before he barked and jumped at the surprised man. The following scuffle had his neighbors nearly call the cops but in the end Dean's laughter stopped them from it. The agent found it rather hard after a while to mind the beast licking him madly when he had the chance. Somehow he had gotten used to the strange aura of the dog.

Needless to say, that the dog did stay with him in the end.

Leon, hearing about the entire debacle the next morning, knew instinctually that his days were running out on him. He only heard into the report until the letter D fell and all after it got forcefully ignored. All what mattered was that D had come back. To judge from the story he had just heard, he was darn angry to boot! Leon never actually believed in it that any of the events of last night had been an accident.

Too good he knew the count and how he worked by now.

Giving in his and Jill's pleads for free days and getting the ok's almost immediately, Leon took his jacket and went outside. What awaited him, sitting innocently on the hood of his new car, didn't faze the man the slightest. Although, he remembered Tetsu to be a lot smaller from before. The massive beast lay innocently on his van with an air of boredom around him. still he was rather easily to recognize for Leon.

*Oh bugger, you are not even scared!* Came the exasperated mental voice of Tetsu to Leon.

Leon couldn't help it, sitting down right next to the big beast after climbing up, he laughed until the tears came. He never knew how he ended up face down buried in Tetsu's fur but somehow he did. Leon did not even care a shit that said fur smelled unpleasantly of blood and musk, he simply cried his heart out and that was it.

What was more surprising as that even was it that Tetsu did let him use his body as a tear pillow!

Without to even give Leon a smart ass retort for once. He just growled but not at Leon and then shifted his massive body until he could put his snout into the neck of the cop. It took Leon a while before he got himself back under control. Even after doing so, Tetsu still made no comment. He just gave him a look out of his inhuman eyes that told Leon volumes and that Tetsu did understand fully well. The man finally jumped down again and went back into the station to come back a short while later with a washed face.

He let the Taotie hop off the van and into it and was off into the direction of his home shortly after.

Suryallee


	3. Chapter 3

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

**Glossary:**

(KAMI, a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(DAIYU (黛玉). Chinese name for girls, meaning "black jade," from (黛) tai4 1306a "black, umber, to paint the eyebrows," and (玉) yü4 1685c "jade, jewels; beautiful, precious." (A Mandarin-Romanized Dictionary of Chinese, MacGillivray, 1921).)

(DOVES, a common bird from all over the world. Mostly seen as a pest in bigger cities because they grow fast in numbers. Can be the transmitter for illnesses since they eat practically everything from the streets and trashcans if given the chance. In some cities, they even lay out poison traps to reduce the numbers. Come in many races, mostly through selected breeding by humans)

(HELLDOG, a beast of old folklore and European myths, origin in Greece mythology as a guardian of the doors to the underworld. Also known for hunting down souls of mortals who dare to cross their domains. Known for guarding demons and sometimes vampires and in some cases even to guard Gods if needed in European legends.)

(Tao Tie, also known as Totetsu in Japanese. Originally a beast alike deity or half deity out of the times of the Chang Dynasty in ancient China. Known for being insatiable in their hunger and for eating everything. Can fuel the positive imagination of artists, is sometimes known to be a muse for them as well. In old folk tales of ancient China to modern days, it is said that they can take on a harmless appearance to lure children into their grasp to eat or keep them)

**Chapter three: domestic live interrupted **

Coming home was feeling different today to Leon.

Because he had not only a beast following him on every step that looked like a bad joker mix between a tiger, a goat and a human all the way up to his apartment in the sixed floor of his housing. Oddly enough, to the guards Tetsu seemingly looked like a smallish sheep, tiger mix only… Leon chose not to comment on that and simply ignored it with a fanatically stubbornness that stunned even Tetsu speechless for once.

Leon was getting better in this, the Tao Tie realized fast and chose to let the matter fall.

It didn't matter anyways; as long Leon did not shoot him again, he could deal with his sudden oddness's. He understood rather good what had to run amok in Leon's mind right now. Couldn't even blame the poor cop for it either. The D's had that effect on humans occasionally. On animals too, he was no exception from that rule. Leon currently had to torment his poor brain for what was going to happen and Tetsu wasn't helping any, he knew.

He had simply gone and searched the cop out.

Fully well realizing that Leon had to know by now, somehow, that the Kami was back and kicking his civilians around once more. Another point for him to follow Leon home was Christopher. He wanted the boy back in his grasp! Even having explained the reasons of D's decision to him to send Chris back had not truly stopped Tetsu from wishing it had not been necessary.

In the end, he had been alone again and Tetsu had not liked to loose his little human playmate.

Outwards, Tetsu had played cool. His inner turmoil had been an entirely different story to tell. He had even snapped at D one day in his frustration, hence the longer explanation in the end. To be honest, he had been short from leaving the ship and hunting down Chris on his own before D had taken him aside to explain everything to Tetsu in long suffering hours.

However, nothing had worked out according to plan.

Then they had stayed in Tokyo and that fool of a landlord had stomped into their shop to pest D. That human had shortly served as a distraction, not in the lengths of Leon, oh no. No one could replace that moron as far as the animals in the ship were concerned, but enough to take Tetsu off of the initial anger and hurt for a while.

To have an irritated Tao Tie of Tetsu's caliber on their hands had even a bit scared the Kami's.

He was a minor deity after all and as such, Tetsu had a lot power of his own resources that he could use if needed. Or if wanted as the one he was using right now to fool the guards into seeing only his harmless animal form what seem to amuse the Leon to no ends. For Tetsu, all of this held no meaning in any worth to what he wanted to get back into his paws reaches to keep it this time around for good.

Namely, one human boy called Christopher Orcrot.

In addition, said human he could already smell in that damned elevator that made his ears ring. Next time he would use the stairs, Tetsu swore! Leon just shrugged seeing him cringe and soon held his hands over Tetsu's ears to hold the worst away from his fine tuned hearing. It helped a bit and made the agitated beast calm down some.

A dinging sound and the doors opened.

Barely fast enough to have Tetsu jump out of the cursed thing of human tech! He hated them, final. Trotting down the hallway, he simply followed his fine nose until his eyes could read the label with the name Orcrot on one of the doors. The cop did well, from what Tetsu could tell. The building was high quality and pricey to live in for certes. If Tetsu had still a human host, he would have chosen such a place to live in too. He shrugged it off and waited until Leon had opened the door for him to slip inside like a ghost.

Leon in the meanwhile had to shrug at Tetsu's performance.

That he had not attacked anyone on their way here was a miracle to Leon but he figured rightfully that the Totetsu wanted to see Chris badly and left it wisely at that. Somehow, he could even understand the beast's strange need to see his little brother. They had spent almost all the time together in the shop. He had roughly every time seen the beast with his brother or Chris around him somewhere. Tetsu had even taken a bullet meant for Chris… hell, in Leon's eyes that made Tetsu safe enough to be around Chris in his books.

If looking for one, D and Leon had just to search for the other in the past.

In time, they had even joked about it. Tetsu was missing Chris and that was it. Leon heard the squeal of his brother when he hung up his jacked away under the questioning stare of Jill. "He followed me home?" Jill gave a snort, her eyes still red from crying badly and the cheeks doted with red spots from it too.

"Followed you home, huh? Just like that… "

He nodded. "Was suddenly sitting onto my van, yes onto it. In all of his glory and tried to scare me, the bastard goat from hell! Didn't succeed much thought. Read up on his kin as much as I could one day. Boy was I surprised! But no longer, Jill. He is what he is, better dealing with such in time as in the future when it comes and bites us in the ass."

She nodded to his words.

"Did the same, actually on all the beasts I could remember hearing D name them in the past. Cant say I was much relived after it either." Both chose to change the thematic of their talk and went on talking about dinner. Jill had shortly been out and had bought groceries in the time Leon was gone. She told while he changed that some druggy had shortly tried to steal them out of her car when she brought back the wagon from the market to be chased away from her. Nothing was stolen but she had to repack the steaks and some other meat that Jill had bought and had fallen out of the bags as it looked to her. Walking down the corridor to the kitchen, both ignored the soft sobs coming from Chris room.

Inside of it the youth that had been the child brother of Leon and now was a teenager was sobbing into the enduring coat of the at the ceiling staring Tetsu.

What was it with those Orcrot's to use him constantly as their tear pillow today?! One would think that Chris had grown out of that darn habit of his… seemingly he had not. A sigh left the beast before he gave it up to fool himself and went to rather lick the tears from Chris face that, despise of still having him crying was openly smiling at Tetsu with the same warm and honest smile of his.

Without an ounce of fear concerning his former friend and acting not different from before.

Tetsu, in secret, marveled at that. Every other human would have given him already a look of horror seeing his sharp fangs, deadly claws and pointed horns or his sheer size. No luck for Tetsu here with the Orcrot brats. Not even one of them had given him the pleasure, damnit! Moreover, to top it, that Jill woman had just given him an odd stare and then had pointed to Chris room with her thumb.

Humans these days didn't knew what to fear on sight anymore, Tetsu decided with a shake of his head… only to soon scratch that thought out to replace it for: all other humans did actually still know it, but those that had to do with Leon and his family somehow not. Those ones had somehow lost their marbles in his eyes, not that he did mind it much.

He was strangely rather glad that they didn't fear him, as it usually was the case.

Especially not Chris.

The boy had damn grown since he had last seen him and had simply taken one look at him before Tetsu had an armful of taller Chris hanging on his fur and crying into it like mad. Today was simply not his day, the Tao Tie decided and left it at that in the end. Fully content to be surrounded with Chris unique scent again.

Inside the dark halls of the pet shop, D meanwhile read Tetsu's rather frank note, telling him that he was off to visit Chris, with an arched brow.

On his shoulder, Pon Chan fumed before she calmed down again and sighed. At least the stupid man-eater could have taken her with him she thought angrily and defeated at the same time. Next to both, Ten stood in his human form and arched a brow at the short message. Then he smirked. He silently wondered how many animals would silently leave to visit a certain boy in the next days to come. All of them would give the Kami a headache, he was sure.

Grinning he shrugged before he went to tell the dragon sisters about it.

The ruckus that followed would be worth the punishment later for certes!

Unknown to all of it, Leon had in the meanwhile taken Daiyu out of her bed to change and feed her. Tetsu saw him when he walked by Chris room after Chris went to the bathroom to wash up. Thinking to have a long overdue bite out of the cop, he followed Leon silently. Only to stop short when seeing him take the little girl out of her bed.

He still followed Leon stubbornly into the room to have a closer look at Daiyu.

The little girl giggled happily at the man-eater while she was changed and feed from her daddy. Seeing Leon like this put some real annoying thoughts into Tetsu's head that he forcefully ignored. Sometimes ignorance was bliss he realized. The little princes was distracting. He had to give her credit for that ability.

She was cute and still cute enough to eat in his opinion but he wisely chose not to tell Leon about that.

Who knew, he could have stored a gun away somewhere in the flat for all Tetsu did know and trusted Leon for. That man was a cop through and through and would never risk being unarmed. He even respected Leon for being dangerous in his own way. He did protect his rag-tag family this way and Tetsu understood that at least, very good.

In his world such protection decided more often then not about the survival of the next generation.

The surviving of ones progeny and the continued existence of a species. As well did it to have the ability to seize situations when given, to avoid complications, to stay alive and have the strength to find and fight for a mate. All of that added together in his line of seeing things. Leon had succeeded in the most of them already in the past and now he did even more so in caring for his offspring. In his own weird way, Tetsu respected the man.

Leon did nothing to stop Tetsu to look at his little daughter, as inane as that was.

Well knowing by now how dangerous he truly was and what Tetsu preferred as his main diet. Leon war far beyond caring about those things in the moment. All he cared for was that he felt no ill intent coming from Tetsu and that was enough. When the beast suddenly blurred before his eyes Leon actually had to stop himself from gapping openly at Tetsu. In a matter of moments there sat a teenager at his feet and not the beast.

"So, you can take on a human appearance at will?"

Tetsu shrugged.

"More or less, I suppose. My kind has a human form to their usage. Not as in possessing a body only but in really being human in a way. We use it rather rarely thought." He told Leon calmly, fully absorbed in watching Daiyu. That was until Chris came in and gasped and then fast darted over to the two to too sit down at Leon's feet.

Soon his hand found its way into Tetsu's and it staid there for the entire time the two watched Leon and Daiyu.

The beast made no comment on it and neither did he remove his hand again from Chris dead grip on it. He looked rather content to Leon and he laughed softly inwardly at the picture that the two made unknowingly. Finally, he burped Daiyu before he let her down to crawl a little unsteadily over to Chris and Tetsu.

Instead, the little mischievous sprite robbed, crawled over to the joined hands to wiggle her body under them.

Finally there she grinned widely up with a loud; "Ghuh!" Her antics made all of them laugh. Tetsu begun to scratch her carefully minding his claw like nails what had Daiyu soon laugh her baby laugh at him. The beast in human form grinned widely at her happy reaction. Jup, the entire line of Orcrot's was mad! Tetsu decided this weird and wonderful ignorance of danger was obviously inheritable. Daiyu just proved it to him once more.

Shaking his head, he gave a look to Leon before he removed his hand from Chris and picked her up.

Again, no fear whatsoever. Another shaking of his head was the follow and had Leon actually grin at his antics this time. Her hands soon found one of his horns to hold onto; Tetsu just gave it up and stood with Leon to follow him to the kitchen. Daiyu still securely held on his arm. She was barely more than a toddler, Tetsu realized.

Barely a year old, she was beginning to crawl now what had to be a hassle for Leon to watch over.

He too had listened to the story that D had discovered about her existence. That Leon had taken her in and now cared for her was a plus in his eyes. Looking at her once more, he found another Orcrot gen that seems to be dominant in the family. Their eyes. One look at the picture of Daiyu's mother told Tetsu that she had brown eyes.

The Orcrot genes struck again with giving Daiyu her blue eyes.

Those blue eyes that reminded one at summer skies and the ocean. Leon's mother had them, Leon had them, Chris had them and now the little tyke had them too. Tetsu nearly sniggered in his mirth on his way. At least she was not blond too, he thought. She had her mothers black hair and porcelain skin from what he could see.

With the looks of her father, she would be a beauty when grown, worthy of a king.

This time he did snigger. No chance in hell that D would let that precious marry anything below if he ever got his hands on Daiyu, Tetsu was sure. The Kami was fussy in such, especially when it concerned something or someone he did care about. Daiyu, Tetsu was certain, would fast fill into that category.

Jepp, cute enough to eat although a bit grabby if Tetsu was concerned he thought, while he tried to pry her hands from his hair and horns with little success.

She had a dead clutch on both he found out under the mirthful eyes of Leon and co. Jill finally helped him to settle Daiyu into her chair. Looking at the food critically and suddenly feeling nauseous from the underlying smells he could detect from the steaks, Tetsu pointed at the pasta with vegetables and short grilled steaks. "Who cooked this?" Leon's eyebrow begun to twitch. "Not even in here for a whole hour and mouths off already!" He groused while Jill gave Tetsu a curios stare. "Me. Any problems with it?"

Tetsu shook his head.

"Nope, just checking, the idiot managed to burn even water before as far as I know of his former cooking skills" He calmly stated out what had Leon give Tetsu a death glare that was deliberately ignored. Tetsu still eyed the meat warily and Jill gave a shrug and begun to serve the food by first taking on the noodles. "Yeah, well, that's true. Nowadays he is taking cooking classes. Believe it or not, he turned out to be a better cook as thought." Now she got a glare sent from Leon who took the noodles from her with a growl.

Tetsu sniffed at the steaks and to the surprise of all growled loudly before he suddenly took the plate to throw all onto it into the trash bin with another snarl.

"Eh?!" Was all that Leon could muster up before Tetsu went to the fridge and turned it open to throw calmly the rest of the uncooked steaks away too.

"They are smelling bad, Leon! I mean, really," He gave Leon a pointed look. "really, bad! Something is off with them, smell awfully a lot of almonds to my nose." He growled anew and packed another pack of meat into the trash bin after sniffing on it.

Leon sat down his utensils slowly and gave Jill a short alarmed look.

"Did you eat from them already?" The now pale faced woman just shook her head in her shock before she stood and went out of the kitchen to run to the bathroom. Seconds later, they all heard her retch. Stress, Tetsu had no doubt as well he did not even think of it that she had tried to poison them all by choice. From what he could tell, she had been used unknowingly. "Hey Chris?" The boy looked equally pale faced as Jill at Tetsu. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you go and bring her a new towel? She will need one, you know?" The youth nodded and stood shakily up to do so while Leon called a friend to get them pizza from the living room phone. After that, he called the police station to make a report. Then he went and got all out of the bin again to pack it up into plastic bags with Jill's help who had come back again. Currently she cussed up a storm.

Both worked fast and effectively.

A short while later Leon suddenly took Tetsu by the hand to the little storeroom he had in the kitchen to show him the food stored there. There was nothing more that smelled suspicious to him in here. The baby foodstuff was checked first, the rest later. When the bell rung, he changed back into his animal form seamlessly.

Outside the door stood Hellersen with an unknown dog that had Leon's hairs in the neck stand up seeing it and that practically screamed D to him. Without a word Dean was grabbed and hauled into the flat while Leon hit the door close right after him passing the doorsill. "Tetsu, move your darn ass here and tell me what that beast outside my door is in real!"

Said Tao Tie grinned when he trotted into the hallway.

*A helldog, name is Khan. He is the appointed guardian from D for your friend. A dog demon of some sorts, why the fuss?*

Leon had steam practically coming out of his ears when hearing Tetsu telling him this telepathically.

"Uhh, Leon?" Dean looked confused at the cop. Leon gave his friend a short look. "Remember what I told you about that Howell guy and the Chinese guy named Count D?" The man nodded slowly and then suddenly tore Leon's door open. "That slimy bastard of an owner of yours tricked me, didn't he?!" He unsuspectingly roared down at Khan. Said helldog gulped seeing the same incensed look in both sets of the men's eyes.

Suddenly Leon's hand shoots out and had already grabbed his collar before even Khan could object or react, to simply throw him inside too and then bang the door shut.

Tetsu watched Khan roll rather graceless into the hallway with a nasty snigger. It earned him a glare from Khan. Then the helldog called it off and simply took his human form right in the middle of Leon's small and now a bit crowded hallway. "Hey! No need to throw me around. I was just asked to watch over your friend for a while since someone wants him dead too!"

Leon rolled his eyes at that rather quickly.

"Yeah and my granny has danced polka on the moon with the sandman before she went to heaven. Suure, you are only here to guard his back… my ass!" He kneeled until he could look Khan in the red eyes. "Who do you think to fool here, devil? I know a bit more as before and a Helldog is a still a Demon spawn. One of the worst cases of your kin to run across actually, my dear fiend!"

Said helldog gave Leon a barely masked growl before he finally carved in and shrugged.

"Still does not change the spots, cop. I do what they ask of me, you should also know that one. Moreover, to stop your next question in the beginning, no I am not promised his soul for it. He is off limits to such as me. Dean has a pure soul if that is telling you something." He huffed and crossed his arms at Leon and Dean's now mutual stare.

Dean suddenly felt a big headache coming on and rubbed his face while he stepped over first Leon and then Khan to walk into the kitchen to sit down for a moment.

Leon just shrugged at his friend's reaction before he too rose and went to the kitchen again. "If you harm him, so help me god, I will hunt you down and kill you. Got that?" Khan wisely did forego any pretense and nodded sharply. "Fully, I would expect no less from you Leon Orcrot. The Kami even warned me that you would most likely succeed if angered too much. And contrary to the usual believe, I do value my existence."

He slowly rose himself to lean against the kitchen door in the end.

Daiyu, still sitting in her chair and playing with a half eaten noodle cooed at the hellspawn cutely.

Khan arched a brow at that and then at Tetsu who had changed back and now went to take her out of her chair calmly. "Welcome to the world of the Orcrot's and fellow friends of them, Khan. Where everything seems to be possible and no one seems to react how they should." He told Khan cryptically and then he walked serenely out of the kitchen with Daiyu on his arm to go to Chris room.

He left a wholly befuddled hellhound and three equally mystified humans in his wake.

**Suryallee **


	4. Chapter 4

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

Thank you all kindly for the reviews, fav's and follows of my little story ^_^, Shaddowfox, I will answer tomorrow, to you via mail, I am just too tired today, forgive me please? Suryallee

**Glossary:**** Please look at the bottom of the story, due a complain! **

**Chapter four: ignorance is bliss **

Khan watched the next spectacle a short while later from the living room couch in his dog form. To his feet sat the younger Orcrot with Tetsu on the floor. Holding the babe between them while looking at it too. The officers had come in only a few minutes later as the agent and him. As had the friend of Leon, to bring the pizza and some other stuff, bought for them.

This time, neither Khan nor Tetsu found something odd with the meat and other food.

It was packet away from Jill and Leon fast. Currently, an entire emergency team of the law enforcers was taking the steaks with them and interrogated Jill for all she knew about the supposed druggy. When done, they all left again besides Dean who had wanted to give Leon an update on the entire research this evening.

The clock showed Khan that it was far past eleven in the night now and Daiyu was fast asleep in Chris arms that in turn leaned tiredly against Tetsu.

Sighing, the youth got up and brought her to her bed. Tetsu stretched too and went right after the teen. It made Khan squint at the pair while thinking fast. To him it looked like Tetsu had taken a shine in the sixteen years old teen. He shrugged it off. Did not matter to him. The Tao Tie could take care of himself quite nicely, as well, Khan was aware of and the teenager was safe with Tetsu. The latter mentioned would bite everyone to death who dared to lay a single finger on the boy. If not worse. Tetsu's species was known to be ferocious if annoyed already; He did not want to know what the Totetsu would do to a fool that enraged him really.

Doing something so unwise as to harm one Chris Orcrot… he shuddered.

Not even Khan wanted to be a part of that mayhem then! He knew enough to stay out of the mythical beast's path in that respect. They could even kill high-ranking demons easily if needed. That should alone say enough. Tetsu and his kin freely roamed any plane they wished. None of the inhabitants was safe from these creatures when they marked them as prey.

Humans, they did not even pose a treat to such creatures in the normal.

Well, if you canceled out Leon Orcrot from the rule. This, Khan knew as much. Had heard of the cop's stunt to shoot a host body of Tetsu and have survived it as well as the beast try to bite him on every occasion possible. That man, even Khan had gotten so much until now, was something else entirely. His glare earlier had told the hellhound as much.

There had shortly been his dead written in those blue eyes and Khan had gotten that too.

That human had a strong believe in his own capabilities, was a strong soul as well as he was dangerously sharp. No wonder that Kami wanted that man so badly, Khan laughed silently to himself. Leon was what many would call a strong man. With a blazing soul to match the fiery spirit of his, he liked Leon.

That man would even survive in the hells if needed, he realized fast and that alone marked Leon as truly special to Khan.

He shortly wondered what a little one born of that cunning Kami and that strong willed human would be like and had to laugh loudly after gulping a few times before that. Much to Jill, Leon and Dean's mutual confusion who had looked oddly at the suddenly madly laughing dog demon on one of Leon's couches. Shrugging it off, all three went back to contemplate the several names of syndicates and crime lords that Dean's research had dug up while sitting on the other couches around Khan.

He learned that way that everyone in this room was equally bright and dangerous in their own respective ways.

They complimented each other with sometimes even ending an opened up sentence for the other. These three were an unholy good working force all on their own. One that was effective and currently that superior that even Khan was impressed. Idly he asked himself what those three could do together in the hell planes and a new snort escaped him at the thought.

Enough to do damage to too many of their inhabitants to make themselves easily at home there he figured and grinned.

Too bad, they were pure souls. Otherwise, it would have been entertaining to watch them, Khan grumpily realized. It was sometimes soo boring there that it hurt! Those three were fun at least. He eyed the clock again. "Not to be a fun breaker but should you not try to solve that out tomorrow? It is rather late and Dean has to be up at seven." His voice rose them all in under a few seconds. Including Dean who still was determined to bring him back into the shop the next day.

Dean, finally after eying the clock as well, called it a night and took Khan with him to drive home. He was so darn tired. As much as he hated to admit it, Khan had a point. He reached his house just in time to see it explode and the rests of it fly around his ears.

The only thing that rescued his ass was Khan's rather fast reaction time.

Instead of being burned alive in his car, the man was transported rather roughly out of it until he fell inelegantly onto his neighbors tediously mowed grass lawn. What broke his shoulder in the process but that was unimportant for Dean right now! What was interesting him more was that Khan looked rather injured and that the helldog looked fairly mad after someone fast driving away from the crime scene.

However, his neighbor cared the most for it that Dean's former car was now a part of his former living room wall.

Well, halfway it was. The other half still struck out of the wall to it. Minus the driver door through, out of that one Khan had catapulted them both out off. It had come to rest into the crown of the nearby Acorn tree of the next neighbor of Dean who eyed it unbelievingly from his bedroom window situated on the second level. Dean shook his head and screamed at the men to call the cops, while checking Khan over. The helldog was already healing under his eyes what had Dean stare a short moment at the demon and then fall back to sit on his butt while cradling his arm.

The next few hours flew by with him giving his attack report, having to file out his insurance report, go to the hospital to get his arm checked and so on.

In the end, Leon came with his van and collected Dean from the hospital. The drive back was a silent one. Until Khan joined them in the minivan after getting him back, from the called vet. Khan was loaded in after checked on and off all three was again. The demon changed as fast as he was hidden in the van and begun to cuss worse as anything both men had ever heard before. It gave both a grim pleasure to have Khan cuss that wildly were they were too shocked to do so right now. That was until Leon found his voice box back and too cursed up a wild streak that made some bystanders at a traffic light controlled walkover blush and move fast away from the madmen in the mini van.

The demon even managed to throw an empty can at the outside street right out of Leon's open window in his anger to alleviate his fury in a way.

Not even Leon said something about it this time. Reaching his home Khan changed back for as long it needed all three males to reach Leon's flat. Barely in he changed again and went on to curse up another wild streak as if the short walk up had never happened. Just now in a considerately lower voice as before. No need to wake Daiyu up, he figured. Suddenly he threw his arms up in the air and then went like a bat out of hell out of Leon's open balcony window to vanish on them all.

The trio he left in his wake stared for some seconds after him, then at themselves to finally shrug in an eerily unison before they went back to make sleeping arrangements for Dean.

Leon's flat slowly grew crowded they realized. Originally designed for a family of maximum fife, he luckily had three bedrooms and one children room to his usage. Originally, that flat had come with a small extra office room too, but that one was currently a turned storage room of sorts. Still full with stuff that Jill could rescue from her home and from Chris. Tomorrow they would go and change that. It would be a pain to move the boxes to the underground level room but Leon thought it to be better.

Jill was currently settled in the guest room of the quarters while Leon slept in the master bedroom, Chris was in the third bedroom and Daiyu slept the children's room.

Dean would temporally get the storage room once cleaned to live in until he found a new housing. For once Leon was glad about the space he had to his disposal for paying so much each month even having only to pay the half of the normal price. His new two flat sharers agreed fast to take on the bill together with the next paycheck in exchange.

With the exception of the broken bone in his arm and a few scratches and minor burns Dean had gotten away rather cheap and he knew it. Without Khan, he would have been toast!

Laying in his temporally bed on the biggest of the three couches, Dean had no illusions of what Khan would leave in his wake for his fellow agent's to find. If even anything was there left to find for them in the end. He shrugged it off. Somehow, he realized that, he was still in shock. However, Dean gave not a shit for once what would happen to the ones who just blew his life up in a manner of speaking.

He was taken off the case for the time being, Dean knew as much.

Turning, he closed his eyes and tried to catch on sleep.

In another part of LA, Khan just finished to transport the last unfortunate soul of a man to his plane of the hells while giving a minor demon orders to what to do with the souls that had tried to kill Dean when being alive. Behind him, the elder count was looking on with indifferent eyes. Secretly, the count almost pitied the soul's… almost. These men would never leave hell again. Too doomed were their soul's already and Khan was widely known to have played with his victims for ages at times.

Not to mention that he had this time even given them over to even worse creatures of his plane as playthings as an added punishment.

Shrugging, the oldest of the count's went on to watch the down burning estate in which the men had been in. That had once been a grand villa. Well, just a few hours before, now it was burning down to ashes under the helpless eyes of the firefighters and the police emergency group. The left over bodies would not be reconcilable to anyone except by their dental charts but all of that was not caring Sofu D at all. Toni Calletti was history and that was that.

Sofu did just care for it that the agent had survived.

"I take it that he and they are alright? And good work, Khan. I am sure my grandson will be pleased hearing about this." The demon spawn nodded sharply. "Yes, count D. He has a broken arm but is otherwise ok. A little worse to wear at best. It was a bit on the edge but in the end, we made it out of that cursed car vehicle in one piece each. I hope he will be, I for once, be. Dean is rather easy company, as long one ignores his penchant to attract so damn much trouble!" He calmly told the Deity while turning now too to watch the human's hopeless tries to get the blazing inferno under their control. Khan had let a bit too loose in his thirst for vengeance and had let flames from his plane escape into the mortal world by accident. They had fast burned the house down around him and his victims.

Impossible to get them out again by any human means before they had not burned down all that there was in their path, he knew that best.

Bowing to the oldest of the D's, he made his way back to Leon's household to take up his duty from Tetsu again, who currently kept his human safe for him there with his humans. He was cussing softly under his breath all the way back. Khan was more than steaming mad even after having tortured Toni and his goons for the last hours. Those human souls would need millennia to pay it back to him until he would let go on them again.

Until Khan was satisfied with their punishment.

To dare to try to blow his human up! The nerve of that three times cursed man and his hooligans… Khan let a new stream of curses escape his lips. Reaching the balcony had him fast find out that Tetsu lay on it by nearly stepping onto the Totetsu by accident. "Hey! Watch it Mr. clumsy feet! Back so soon? I thought you would enjoy yourself for longer." The demon nodded at the Tao Tie and his newly arrived friends from the pest shop. He eyed them curiously. Each he had seen before there on occasion and each he recognized as special right away. One was an odd cat boy that he had seen before in the shop.

A rather feral looking youth with unusual baleful eyes, twitchy ears and long limbs. Maybe at the age equivalent of a human of seven to eight years? The long claws of that one looked as if he wore golden nail polish and darn long and sharp to boot! The skin in human form was light brown with stripes on each face side in gold and he had his eyes lined with kohl and gold, what made them look bigger as usual. Each iris was entirely bluish-green. Currently he stared feral at Khan and then he grinned a slow, fanged smile at the demon spawn that had Khan shudder out of a point he didn't get.

The other was a like a teenager looking Kitsune male of indeterminate age in a haphazardness outfit that would have fit better inside a nightclub as onto the terrace.

The latter of the group around Tetsu made Khan gulp a bit in secret. Ten Chan was a nine tails. A deity like Tetsu in some way and very precarious in his own right. The old Kitsune grinned at him. "Heard the older count let you run free on a small romp?" The demon lord nodded. Showing his fangs while he grinned and spoke, Khan finally settled between the odd group on Leon's enduring veranda. "Yup! Why? Need one too?" The fox boy nodded slowly. "Maybe in the future, he promised me to let me have the ones that blew up Miss Jill's estate." He gave Khan a sharp look. "D isn't happy to have nearly lost the agent. He was rather mad when hearing this. Sent us here as guardians for the others."

Ten sighed and Khan rubbed his face.

"Leon san will not be happy learning of this and neither will it be Miss Jill, I fear."

Khan nodded, he could see were the Kitsune's fears rooted from by have watched them for only a few hours. Pointing at the cat boy Khan addressed his curiosity. "Who is that?" Ten followed his thump to the boy and grinned wildly. "Oh he? He is just little Rajid. A Pharaoh Cat tom. He may look not like much to you and is rather young but he will be good company for sweet little Daiyu Chan and trust me: he can keep her safe when it comes down to it. From what or who ever tries to hurt her.

Is a descendant of the old protectors of the temples and beasts of Basted. You better do not mess with him. He is as normal as the rest of us here, if you get my drift?"

Khan nodded eying the Catboy warily.

"And the birdie that flies around the building over our heads?" Now he had Tetsu Rajid and Ten chuckle at his clever observation. "She is a Harpy, yes, exactly one of those ones. She usually does not say much, so you better do not go and make her mad either, Khan. She is the most vicious that the count's have in their halls. The most deadly and terrible one of the bunch that nests in there. He lets her out rarely and only if really needed. Not even, I know her name and neither have the wish to ever learn it. They do not tell them others; have power or something like that. Is here to watch the building and to lure attackers away if needed."

Khan had heard enough.

He rose and went inside by stepping casually over the cat boy. Barely missing his playful long tail. The tom seems not to mind him. He just looked shortly after Khan, and then he too rose and slipped soundlessly inside. Curios of his little charge. He had already seen her earlier, asleep in her bed. Still, he wanted to watch and guard her sleep. This place did not feel safe enough to Rajid to feel that he could leave her alone for longer as necessary. Humans and their false sense of security, he snorted. This building could easily be invaded or become a fire hazard in his watchful eyes.

On his way to Daiyu, he run over Leon's way to the bathroom.

The man shortly blinked down at the unusual tom. "D sent you, eh?" The cat boy nodded, surprised of not being screamed at right away. Was this the same human the others had told him about? He looked a tad different to Rajid and behaved a lot calmer as told. Leon picked Rajid carefully up to look at the strange cat a bit more closely before he put him down next to the door of his daughter's room again.

"You better keep her safe then, ok?"

Again, Rajid could only nod in his surprise. He earned a wonderful petting and scratching behind his large ears for that. One that made him purr in delight. That man knew how to treat a cat well, the tom thought before he licked Leon's hand and vanished inside of the dark room of the little girl. With a catty swirl of his long tail, that barely misses Leon's feet. Leon could only chuckle at the antics of the oriental looking and rather big cat.

Then he went on with his original plan and used the bathroom.

After that, he went to the balcony. He had seen before going inside the bath, the others sitting there and wanted to know what this all was about. Although, Leon had a good hunch already. Meant, a well-known fox with too many tails and Tetsu would give him some answers. He settled rather calmly between the two under their flabbergasted gazes. When seeing him suddenly fold out of the darkness of the flat.

"Heard you murmur and woke up from it, so, duh!" He told them impertinently what had both smirk back at Leon. "Figures. You always woke too when we tried to do something stupid while you were at the shop." Ten told him back with a good-natured grin. Tetsu just snorted at Leon's words and went on to stare up at the harpy that made him nervous.

The harpy ignored them all she just cared for the to her given task.

She idly wondered how such a man and his brother could come from a family with such vile members as those two she had shortly before this sung into madness. Leon did not know it by now, but his uncle had killed his wife in a bout of insanity and now was admitted into an asylum for criminals with a psychosis background.

Constantly he was now seeing the ghosts of the Harpy and her sisters come for him to eat away at his soul and his wife's ghost in between to get him back for what he had done to her.

She screeched one time before she flew higher up into the clouds to vanish from even the Tao Tie's eyesight. Below her Leon gave a shudder when hearing that strange bird cry. "What the hell was that thing?!" Ten shrugged and Tetsu hissed at his question. "A harpy, Leon. She luckily for us will stay away mostly, only guard the building. I don't like her to be near Chris or anyone else! Those beasts are evil, trust me. Not a bit evil, like we other mystical beasts are often are it too but really and truly evil in ways that even we others of the mythical kind avoid normally being around off."

Tetsu's words made Leon shudder anew.

"Then I am glad she stays away!" He told Tetsu and Ten after a moment. "What is D thinking he is doing? Settling his shop slowly over into my flat?" He huffed gruffly. Ten shock his silver head. "Naa, just a few guardians to be here just in case. Tonight was a bit close to home for him I guess. He is really miffed, Leon san. Please, ignore us being here. We mean neither you nor your friends or family any harm, I swear."

Nodding, Leon stood and went back to bed.

Behind him, the shape of a bad bunny folded out of the night. Just in time to hear Leon's last mutters while turning into the form of the elder count.

"With my luck he sends us a vampire next… oh shit now I have that darn bunny grandpa of his in my head again!" Sofu raised one sculptured brow while grinning lopsided in the same second. Both mythical beasts on the terrace tried to smother their laughs seeing this. "Still not over that at last, that insufferable human!" He whispered almost non-hearable. Beside him, Ten nearly toppled over in his mirth while Tetsu clutched at his sides.

He gave the two silly acting beasts no head and simply went silently inside to have a look at the agent on the couch and Khan who had taken the other next to Dean before his feet carried him to the room of Chris. He slept peacefully in his bed. Sofu looked shortly at the teenager and his amusingly decorated wall with a benign smile before he silently closed the door to then walk up to the half-open one of the girl.

His curiosity got the better out of Sofu this night and he went in despise not having wanted to originally.

Daiyu slept peacefully like Chris, with one difference. She clutched at an equally asleep cat boy in her slumber. Said tom seems not to mind her for her possessive hold on his fur. To Sofu the two looked like a slightly older child that was clutched on by little toddler droopily. And what a baby Daiyu was. The little girl was just as charming as her picture had promised. She made soft sucking noises in her sleep.

Clad into a red jumper with colorful teddy bears printed all over, she was sucking on her pacifier.

Tucking her gently back into her blanket again Sofu straightened and went silently out again. He closed the door behind him out. The little girl was clearly Asian origin, with her mass of black hair and features. He smiled and turned to jump up with a barely concealed squeal in his shock!

There, casually leaned against the wall just next to Sofu D, was a sullen Leon Orcrot with folded arms.

Arching one blond brow at the Kami intruder of his home and beside the sleep pants naked to the eyes of his shocked observer. "You know, grandpa, it is highly impolite to just walk into other peoples flats without to be invited, yeah?" The still flabbergasted Kami could only nod. The Leon Sofu had known from before would have already tried to strangle him in the past for doing such a stunt. This new Leon was not only looking better, he also was calmer!

Shortly the Kami known as Sofu D checked if Leon was no imposter.

He wasn't. just older and a bit calmer, he found out to his new shock and the oldest of the D's did something Leon had not believed to ever see the old bat do in his past: the Kami staggered off inelegantly into the kitchen to flop down rather gracelessly onto a chair. Still clutching his chest were his heart pounded madly against his ribcage from the fright of suddenly seeing Leon glare at him.

The man eyed the deity for a moment before he shrugged and paddled over to the kitchen to sit down into the opposite chair nonchalantly.

"Hey, old bat, still feeling ok? Or do I have to fucking go and call D over to get you some medicine?" Sofu gave Leon a heated glare and a vehement headshake as an answer. All right, that was the Leon he could deal with! Rude, loud and foul-mouthed as usual, he almost sighed in his relieve. The other Leon worried him almost out of his slippers! Yet still, he had trespassed on Leon and had snuck into the housing… a soft blush made its way over his face. Much to his growing mortification of having been caught by Leon of all people. It made Leon chuckle softly and throatily what had Sofu blush even worse in the end.

Muttering a curse in ancient Chinese Sofu slowly got a good idea what exactly attracted his grandson to this fool mouthed man so much, to now wreak havoc on his attackers in the end.

Even he had to give Leon credit to look… good. His body looked trim and in a good shape. Well defined muscles were carelessly shown to his eyes when Leon suddenly stood to make them both tea on the nearby counter and when Leon bend shortly to get the teapot out from a cupboard he ogled discreetly the ass of the man. Gulping Sofu shook his head at his own antics. He swore only a moment later violently under his breath when Leon's mirthful voice reached his ears.

"Finished with ogling my ass, Grandpa D?"

Giving Leon a death glare Sofu D huffed before he turned and pointedly stared out of the window, down onto the nightly lightened streets of LA. Behind him, that oaf of his grandson had the gall to chuckle at his rather unusual antics. He wished he could sink into the floor, he felt more stupid as he had rarely ever before in his live for have been caught staring… by Leon Orcrot, curse it!

Leon shrugged at Sofu and turned to take the now hot water from the stove to carefully put it aside.

"You know, can we forget that incident and come back to why the hell you are in my home? It is a bit creepy but hey! A compliment is still a compliment, even coming from you in such a bizarre way. Oh, and can you tell me what to call you? I hate it as much as you probably do it to call you Grandpa or bat bunny all the time!"

Behind him, Sofu snorted at Leon's asinine way to put his mind into words before he chuckled softly.

He guessed he had deserved that one coming his way, Sofu realized. Still watching the outside sight he finally relaxed a bit in the chair. "I think Sofu should suffice, Mr. Orcrot and I do apologize for… my rather immature slip." Behind him, Leon was finishing to make tea while he chuckled madly at the Kami's words.

"Immature my ass, Sofu D. I know that that means Grandfather in Chinese? Oh well, Sofu it is then, by the way: My name is not Orcrot, it is Leon, please use it." He turned and put to mugs onto the table and then a small stove with the teapot. Then he turned again and got three other bugs out of the cupboard with another low chuckle that sent shivers down the elder D's spine. Much to the latter's anew embarrassment. Putting sugar onto the table as well as honey, he sat again and addressed the three hiding just around the corner to the kitchen with a laughing voice.

"Hey, you three idiots, tea is ready, want a cup?" Three different voices cursed colorfully with subdued tunes while the owners slowly sulked into the kitchen.

Tetsu sniffed the tea before he took the offered mug full. He did not shovel so much sugar into it as the count. He rather took to the honey and poured a good bit into his tea before Ten stole it from him with a growl to not take all of it. Khan chooses to go without any of it and did rather take the tea back. Leon shrugged all of them and did the same as Khan. Both shortly shared a look that held the same contempt at the others large sugar usage in their mugs.

The count, seeing that look shrugged at both and sipped at the rather good blend of Leon. The Darjeeling was high quality and tasted rather delicious.

"Where is this tea from, Captain?" Leon grinned at his try to avoid saying his name. "A friend of Jill owns a teashop in the city. He is sometimes making own mixes and selects his assortment all by himself personally from what she told me. I liked the taste of this one and bought a bit of it for my usage. As well as his famous children's beery tea for Daiyu. She loves the taste of it. Wants almost nothing else lately. Spoiled little princess that she is."

Leon smiled besotted while he told Sofu that. The Kami had to smirk at the look. Knowing it all too well. He often caught himself smiling exactly the same stile when he watched his reborn son in the late. The beasts around both rolled their eyes in eerily unison, watching the two tiptoe around each other. Ten, finally having squeezed the last drop out of the bottle of honey put it into the trash bin before he worked his spoon gleefully through the mess.

"No offense, Sofu san, but why are you here? Is something afoul?"

The Kami softly shook his black haired head and sipped again on his slowly cooling tea. "No. all is currently well. Do you knew someone by the name Toni Calletti, Leon?" The man nodded slowly, a look of sharp concentration on his features. "Oh Yeah! I do know that name and *knew* that cursed man all too well!" He gave Sofu a short onceover before he chuckled darkly and addressed Khan.

"Was that the address you went to when you played bat out of hell on us earlier?" The demon lord shrugged and hummed an agreement into his tea mug.

Leon snorted. "I take it that I do not have to worry about him then, thought as much. If you implied with your question before that I should now rave about his loss than you are sorely mistaken here, Sofu! That man was simply bad news. I could tell you things about that Mafiosi that would have stopped even you to sell him one of your critters in the past."

At the word critters, Leon was growled at from three sides and glared at from Sofu, what he impudently ignored altogether.

"Never mind, you think I should at least put up a token of anger, yeah?" This time all fife on the table snorted with Leon together at his cheeky words. Sofu shook his head softly. "I thin its best we let that thematic fall again. Or, knowing you, you will go and do something even worse as just that. You… you have grown, Leon san."

The aforementioned gave Sofu D a short look. "Naah, not really, I have just had enough time in the force to learn some important lections. One of the hardest is to learn to accept it, that some of the real baddis will always slip through your fingers. After have to see that happen for the x'th time, you learn fast that you are a closed asshole for wishing them to die." He took a last sip of his tea and put the pot down.

Across of Leon Sofu nodded shortly at his words before he did the same slowly.

"I apologize for intruding into your home this night, Leon san. I was curios, as you would say?" At Leon's nod, he went on. "However, I should not have done so, I am sorry." The man waved it off. "Just make sure to tell me you are here the next time, Sofu. I know very well that trying to keep you two out is doomed from the start but please, no more sneaking around, aright?" The Kami nodded slowly. Completely befuddled from the calm Leon he witnessed.

Finally, standing the count excused himself before the form blurred and he left the kitchen and flat in his animal form.

Leon arched a brow at that and finally shrugged after a while.

"And he asks why I call him the bat bunny from hell." He murmured softly while putting the now empty tea mugs into the sink. Then Leon waved a vague good night tiredly at the still sitting group at his kitchen table before he too vanished into his bed. Three inhuman gazes looked at each other before the three beasts too put their cups away.

Tetsu went straight into Chris room. There, he went to the windowsill to look out onto the night streets below with intend eyes. The entire day and night so far too had left him thoughtful and a bit clueless when it came to Leon. The man had not really changed, he had just grown up and it showed in more ways then one.

He wondered if that was because of Daiyu?

Tetsu almost bet his horns on it that she had done a great deal in maturing Leon up. Nevertheless, D had also done some real damage to the cop to turn him out in the end, as he was now Tetsu realized. His softly muttered curse luckily did not wake Chris up. Staring at the many books about antiques and history told Tetsu again, of what the teenager wanted to study when finished with school. He softly walked over to the teenager in the bed.

Looking down onto the youth with something akin of hunger the Tao Tie crouched down.

Chris was between a child and a young man, right on the edge of the turn. Just sixteen something. He would not stay that for much longer, Tetsu got that too. A clawed hand caressed the blond head lovingly before he let his human form fall away to become his true self again. He hopped lightly onto the small bed and settled under softly murmured protests, carefully beside Chris to snooze off too.

Lulled into his sleep by the badly missed scent of Christopher.

Inside of his own bed, Leon lay with his arms under his head and stared up at his ceiling with unseeing eyes.

This visit of D's granddad had given Leon a pause. It brought it back to his awareness how much he missed his D and how fucked he was. All denying would do him no good in the very end when it came down to his desires. Suppressed as they were. With a curse, he rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He was darn tired and only three more hours of sleep to get. Leon turned a few times before he finally found some relieve and slipped into a fitful rest.

In the meanwhile, D listened to his Grandfathers tale of what had occurred and tried his hardest not to gap at Sofu.

Honestly! He should go, find, and pester his own human and not his Leon, D shook his head. Inwardly he had to laugh at the told quandary of his grandfather. In a way, he could not really blame him. Leon had always been extraordinary in his eyes. About time, the younger of the two Kami did realize that too for a change.

When Sofu was gone, D mused a while about the heard and finally rose to make the food for the nocturnal animals of the shop ready.

He had no doubt on it that Tetsu had already scent marked Chris as his territory to the world. It was the sole purpose of the Totetsu for visiting him alone so fast. D had realized that early on, as had Ten who had commented on it when the two of them had talked alone about his vanishing from the shop. He too had remarked to leave Tetsu be and do what he wanted for now. In a way, Chris had always been the beasts chosen, D knew as much.

Just as Leon had always his favorite.

It was about time to visit his detective or rather now, captain in the near future D thought while he went on his tasks with a hum. To remind Leon that he had not forgotten about him and that he was not willing to let him off the hook so easily. If he did not know that by now, that was. D had the certain suspicion that his Lion did know that very well.

This time he laughed almost giddily. What had the animals around him grin in return.

If Leon was too stubborn to come here of his own, then he would go and get him, D decided. Running time was over and done with and D wasn't willing to let Leon slip away a second time so he could do something stupid again or get killed. He left the birds room to enter shortly after the room of the Piranha in the shop. Inside the big tank, that was build into the bottom of the room swam a lot of that breed of fish around. Busily munching away on the leftovers of several human bodies that loosely drifted inside the colored water. All under the eyes of Honlon who watched them coolly. To D and her, the piranha looked like young men and women with sharp rows of teeth and long claws on their hands.

He watched them for a short while calmly with her together before he turned and went out again.

Behind him, the appalling feast went on without a delay. The humans had intruded the shop in search for their caretaker. Having heard that D knew something about their role in the mass attack on Leon and Jill's coworkers. The man and his group that had come here to harm their Kami was the boss of a mobster ring that Leon had almost taken out entirely in the past. Now he and the others had all become fish food.

Humming D went on with his usual tasks. Some names less on his list of humans to punish for harming his Leon, he thought amused to himself, while he did.

**Suryallee **

Glossary: 

(KAMI, a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(HELLDOG, a beast of old folklore and European myths, origin in Greece mythology as a guardian of the doors to the underworld. Also known for hunting down souls of mortals who dare to cross their domains. Known for guarding demons and sometimes vampires and in some cases even to guard Gods if needed in European legends.)

(Tao Tie, also known as Totetsu in Japanese. Originally a beast alike deity or half deity out of the times of the Chang Dynasty in ancient China. Known for being insatiable in their hunger and for eating everything. Can fuel the positive imagination of artists, is sometimes known to be a muse for them as well. In old folk tales of ancient China to modern days, it is said that they can take on a harmless appearance to lure children into their grasp to eat or keep them)

(KITZUNE, mythological fox like creature, sometimes called a Deity, sometimes a demon of Japanese origin. Has usually more then one tail, the most dangerous are the ones with nine, the highest number to reach for them. Are seen as clever tricksters that can be dangerous as they can be kind.)

(HARPY, bird alike beast with a woman torso from the myths and legends of the old Greek. Told of to lure unsuspecting sailors off their paths to sink their ships and then drown and eat them. In other cases told to sing humans into madness.)

(EGYPTIAN CAT, also known as Pharaoh Cat. Died out species of cats, settled into the time of the old Egypt's in the time of before the pyramids. Had long ears, short fur and were long legged. Bigger as today's housecats and much wilder. An adaption of that original species still lives today. Genetically speaking. Some were said to be otherworldly creatures that could be guardians of temples or even gods with strong powers.)

(PIRANHA, Special breed of fish that live in the warm waters of the Amazonas River arms in South America. They are known to attack animals as well as humans that step or fall into the waters where they live. Highly dangerous species fish that can bite and devour the flesh off the body of their victims in less than minutes in an swarm of their breed.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

_Sorry for the wait but I have a cold since Thursday that has my family and me laying in bed here in Germany with fever and all. We are still not one hundred % fine but getting better. This was nearly finished when I fell sick, I found time today to check it out and all. Thank you all again for the wonderful feedback, fav's and follows of my little story ^_^ I am surprised thought, I did not know that so many would still read this fandom. This was more a little personal thing of mine, since I have written older stories that I lost out of my eyes in the last years, since my English wasn't good enough and other problems in my live here. Sighs, I have still so many stories stored on my comp that I have never written out… I found time this spring to clean out old baggage on my hard drives. _

_Like the one shot I will post after this chapter. _

_Love and hugs from a peeved feeling Suryallee because she still feels not very well. _

Glossary: Please look at the bottom of the story, due a complain from a person!

Listening to Mike Oldfield, Songs of a distant earth

**Chapter fife: Reality check **

Leon was awoken the next morning from the voices of his guests, fighting over the bathroom.

"Damn it, Jill! Will you speed up a bit? I need to use the facilities, Badly!" That was Dean's voice he bleary-eyed realized after some moments while standing up groggily. "Go and hump a tree for all I care, Dean! I was in first!" Jup, Leon thought, Jill was on the roll. He grabbed a pair of new boxers under the curses of his two friends, directed at each other.

Next to his bedroom, Leon could hear Tetsu ask Chris where his blasted idiotic brother may have stored the eggs away.

It made Leon's brow twitch but then he shrugged it off. Too early to break out into swearing, even for the tired Leon. Chris barely audible answer came when he stepped a bit clumsily into his jeans. Nearly missing one leg because he somewhat looked double in his befuddled and still a bit sleep clouded mind. Next to his room, he heard Chris open the window to his while he did almost the same in the same minute.

To air the room out, he had no doubt. Chris hated the night air of his sleeping rooms as much as Leon hated it and always opened up his window in the morning to hang out his bedding to air out too if possible and it wasn't raining cats and dogs outside. When he stepped out of his room, Chris could be seen doing just that. The teenager was already washed up and clad in his now often used wear.

Loose jeans, barefooted with one of his favorite sweaters on.

Early winter air filled the hallway while Leon closed the door to his room softly and checked on his daughter. Daiyu was already up and currently played catch with the tom's tail. Much to the amusement of both as it looked to an amused Leon. She was already changed into her daily wear and obviously feed too. His guess was Chris had woken early and done that all, the kid often did so since he was here. It helped Leon a great deal that Christopher was so responsible.

On his way, he passed the kitchen.

Khan protested at Tetsu to have been commanded to peel some oranges and onions. Tetsu ignored him with a gruffgrowl while scrambling some eggs in one bowl. Leon shook his head and walked over to the office room that currently was the storage in the flat. Once there he climbed half stepped over a box to reach the door in the back and left of the room. Behind it was a smallish bathroom, just enough space to turn in it and with a shower and a toilet inside.

He took his morning shower in relatively silence, while Jill and Dean still bickered in the flat about the bigger bathroom.

Ten sat onto the veranda, slightly propped up onto the wall of it, he avidly watched the awakening streets below. He had sensed something down that street. Something that didn't belong to the neighborhood. Soon he spotted the man that lurked around in one of the side streets of the main street leading to the secured building. A cop or agent, ten was certain. He let his gaze wander again to let it come to rest onto a car that parked across a nearby diner right on the corner to the next street. His eyes narrowed, the three men inside looked rather fishy to the clever Nine Tails. Looking up into the clouded sky, he addressed the harpy flying her rounds there.

*Three men, in the reddish car at the diner, they are no cops like the man in the corner street to my left is it.*

He felt her mental answer right away. *I saw them park there an hour ago already. From what I can tell, they speak Russian and must be from that group that lead this dumb event… shall I dispose of them?* Ten nodded calmly while grinning meanly down at the unsuspecting humans in the car. *Oh, please do. I can smell from even up and above them here that they mean nothing but trouble. Most likely wait for one of them to leave the building so they can snatch them.*

Above his head, the bird woman screeched one time and than vanished from the near building slowly.

Ten nodded one time before he went back inside again. The men would end up doing something brainless, he was sure. Most likely kill themselves in the doing so, he did not care much. The sudden faint smell of incense reached him just a second before the house phone rung. Leon took it on his way back to the room. In front of his bathroom door now stood Jill and cussed up a storm at Dean who now in turn hocked the bath.

He grinned at the woman while she toweled angrily her dripping wet hair.

"Yes, Orcrot speaking. What is it Gary?" He listened to the security guard telling him that a Chinese looking man named D wanted to visit him and softly cursed under his breath. "Yeah, I do know him, is a friend by the way, let him up and show him the way, would you? Really? Thanks a Ton man, bye." He hung up. Making his way to his room, he eased inside under the glare of Jill who slowly realized that there was another bathroom somewhere hidden in his flat. He smirked and closed fast his room door. Just in time to avoid, the thrown towel aimed at his head.

Inside Leon changed in comfortable daywear and stepped out again just in time to hear the doorbell ring.

With a sigh, he opened it and let the stunned D inside while he turned to the kitchen and walked into the chaos inside of the small room. Chris sat and feed Daiyu in one corner while Ten sat beside him and had Rajid on his lap who munched happily away on a toast loaded with eggs. The nine tails too gobbled his share of breakfast down. Next to him on the other side, Jill nursed a cup of coffee while discussing something with Ten when not chewing on her own food.

Across her was Dean who scowled at his share that was sliced into bite-sized pieces because he could not eat normally. His broken and bandaged arm seem to get into his way all the time he tried to do something, a low curse left his lips now and then. Khan had relocated to the wide windowsill and sat upon it, holding his coffee, a full plate of his share of food balanced on his long legs. The feet of them propped up on Dean's chair with the toes tucked under the man's leg to not loose his balance.

To Chris and Daiyu's other side sat Tetsu cross-legged on the only counter without a cupboard over it and munched on his own food. Now and then telling Chris something that smiled then or answered him. next to the Tao Tie sat a full plate and cup of coffee for Leon. Leon took both and settled down on one of the two left over chairs on the table. With one foot, he maneuvered the other chair over to the stunned looking D and pointed with his fork to it.

"Sit the hell down D before you swoon and fall on your face in your shock; it's just the normal chaos of my live in here, no biggie." He told the bemused and slightly affronted looking Kami gruffly and went on eating the delicious food provided by the Totetsu. D put his mantle away and his brought basket with some things down onto a free counter before he did and took the offered teacup from Chris.

"Oh dear… a little full in here, no?"

Leon just nodded at D's observation. "Yeah, well, what do you expect? In this flat, live currently three adults, one teenager, three adult, animated beasts, one baby and one younger beast? So what do you think is going to happen to a kitchen, originally filed out to hold fife person's max?" Beside him, the deity smirked into his cup.

His chair sat actually nearly outside of the kitchen room, since there was simply no space left inside of the room to move otherwise.

Yet, still, it looked… homely? Peaceful despise the level of the many different voices in the room? He was amused to find that it looked almost like a family meeting inside here. All of the beings inside talked wildly away at each other, sometimes across the table, and most gesticulated animated while speaking. Outside the open window, he could see the harpy curiously peek at the chaos inside too.

She was perched onto the rest of the windowsill behind Khan who ignored her somewhat stubbornly while she peeked over his wide shoulders once in the while. Suddenly Leon stood and angled himself half over the table to take another plate out of the cupboard above Jill's and Ten's heads to then fill it with ham and eggs too to then reach it out to Khan. "Here, feed the lady, will ya? She looks too hungry for my taste and besides, you hock the windowsill so burn."

Aforementioned lady snorted and tittered. Khan glared holes into Leon's skull, and then into hers what both victims ignored.

He finally gave up and reached behind him to feed the strange looking mix between a hawk and a woman with wings instead of arms and long, deadly looking claws that perched on the windowsill behind him carefully. Her mouth held a very sharp set of deadly fangs, he knew. No need to get his fingers bitten off, even if they would re-grow almost immediately, he figured.

The harpy ignored him in favor to take the morsels and chew noisily.

In between Khan sipped from his black coffee. Like Leon, he did like it black and without any kind of sugar or milk, that habit both males had in common. Dean favored his with milk, like Jill. Chris did forgo the coffee all together in favor for the oolong tea. Ten had also chosen tea and Tetsu had taken on it too.

He shook his head at the entire scenery again.

D was astonished how well these different beings seem to go along with each other. Originally, he had schemed to bring breakfast with him, only to find the bakery closed… what had slightly wondered him. Then he had seen the car and figured the men inside had something to do with it. He had noticed the harpy taking care of the men, singing them unheard by other humans into her net of madness before he had reached the building Leon lived inside.

His expanded hearing and senses told him of their arguing and wild cussing down below.

Soon they would begin to shoot each other and become history. He smirked one of his dangerous ones that had Leon instantly arch a brow in question seeing it. "What have you done this time, count?" The count shrugged delicately and chooses not to answer that. Leon shrugged it off, knowing that D would tell him if he needed to know and went back to his fast vanishing breakfast.

"Hey T-Chan, thanks for cooking, even I do remember you calling me an idiot again earlier, you darn goat from hell!" The two exchanged a toothy grin. "Your own fault if you hide the eggs in a place that they do not belong in, moron cop! Don't you have any system inside your kitchen at all?" He snorted at Leon's mock-offended glare. "He does, Tetsu, just like everyone else, it's just his own one. I told him before that he needs to work out a new one." Chris voice calmed Tetsu down in under a second.

Right under the amused eyes of D and Leon. The rest in the room was currently occupied with other stuff.

Khan cussed softly when the harpy nearly managed it to bite one of his fingers off while Jill hit Ten over the head playfully when he had said something lecherous back to her. Rajid had sidled over to Chris lap in favor to play with Daiyu in her baby chair. Chris smiled sweetly at a blushing Tetsu when he took the dishes from him and the others and Dean nursed his coffee cup while trying not to snort at Khan's softly muttered oats.

When full, the harpy suddenly flew away again to the gods only knew where.

The entire group reminded D on the normal chaos that was going on in his shop when the pets were eating in the front room in the past and present. He chuckled amused. Next to him Leon thought about the same while he drunk his last coffee and stood to let an impatient Tetsu pass him to reach the sink. Leon put the hair away and then the mug, then he strode out of his overloaded kitchen to settle in his living room.

Indicating to the seat across from him when he saw D follow Leon settled comfortably in his seat and crossed his legs.

"Why the fuck now, D? When we all have finally gotten over you and your damned pets. Why couldn't you stay away and leave us be for good, curse it! Why did you need to come back now and turn our lives upside down again!?" The Kami across him regarded Leon serenely while he took in the man that his lion had become in the past years compared to the man he had once known and played with so pettily. A sigh left his crimson lips and D found himself into a position he had hardly in in his entire long live.

That of the one, backed into the corner.

The captain had not asked how he had been or why he had run from him. neither why D had wanted to catch him or Leon catch D, he figured he had to thank the old monk for that and left it wisely at that. Leon would not accept any further veiled half-truths, D acknowledged as much and also accepted the dilemma that came naturally with that. The man across from him made his blood run faster even as the man from before! Seeing Leon as he was now, so self-assured, calm, accomplished and unbelievingly strong: it put a new level to his longing to seize the cop and take him away with him where no one could ever take Leon from D again. For a while, D stared out of the window behind Leon to focus on his thoughts, to seek out a route for this dreaded conversation that D knew he could not avoid for once in his life. Finally his dual gaze went back to Leon's sapphire one. To eyes, as calm as the eye of a tornado, a tornado that could break loose again at any given time.

It was time to face the music, and D knew as much.

"Ever heard of something called a pure soul, Leon san? Or what happens when a Kami falls in love with a human?"

D just knew that this would be a long, very long day.

_**Hugs you all, Suryallee **_

**Glossary: posted at each chapter to explain the animals used in the story.**

(KAMI, a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(HELLDOG, a beast of old folklore and European myths, origin in Greece mythology as a guardian of the doors to the underworld. Also known for hunting down souls of mortals who dare to cross their domains. Known for guarding demons and sometimes vampires and in some cases even to guard Gods if needed in European legends.)

(Tao Tie, also known as Totetsu in Japanese. Originally a beast alike deity or half deity out of the times of the Chang Dynasty in ancient China. Known for being insatiable in their hunger and for eating everything. Can fuel the positive imagination of artists, is sometimes known to be a muse for them as well. In old folk tales of ancient China to modern days, it is said that they can take on a harmless appearance to lure children into their grasp to eat or keep them)

(KITZUNE, mythological fox like creature, sometimes called a Deity, sometimes a demon of Japanese origin. Has usually more then one tail, the most dangerous are the ones with nine, the highest number to reach for them. Are seen as clever tricksters that can be dangerous as they can be kind.)

(HARPY, bird alike beast with a woman torso from the myths and legends of the old Greek. Told of to lure unsuspecting sailors off their paths to sink their ships and then drown and eat them. In other cases told to sing humans into madness.)

(EGYPTIAN CAT, also known as Pharaoh Cat. Died out species of cats, settled into the time of the old Egypt's in the time of before the pyramids. Had long ears, short fur and were long legged. Bigger as today's housecats and much wilder. An adaption of that original species still lives today. Genetically speaking. Some were said to be otherworldly creatures that could be guardians of temples or even gods with strong powers.)

(PIRANHA, Special breed of fish that live in the warm waters of the Amazonas River arms in South America. They are known to attack animals as well as humans that step or fall into the waters where they live. Highly dangerous species fish that can bite and devour the flesh off the body of their victims in less than minutes in an swarm of their breed.)


	6. Chapter 6

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

_Thank you all again kindly for all the fav's, reviews and follows of my little story^^ _

_Sury_

**Glossary:** Please look at the bottom of the story, due a complain from a person!

**Listening** to Mike Oldfield, Song of the Sun

**Word Counter,** 7,382 words

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

**Chapter six: what want, need and desire can do to you.**

Tetsu left the kitchen in a hurry under the surprised gaze of Chris.

He could feel the questioning eyes in his back but gave no explanation to his strange actions to the confused teenager. Tetsu had other more pressing problems as Chris confusion in his mind to think about. He had lain awake after a short nap until he felt the youth stir next to him. Thinking and musing about his obsession with Chris all the time, Tetsu had realized that he was in deep shit.

The entire morning meal had been one extraordinary torture to the animated beast.

Sighing Tetsu tried to sort his thoughts out. Since the last night, his desires had become clearer to the Taotie. Thus that, what he wanted from Chris had become increasingly prominent to the mythical being. He knew that he was too attached to Chris! He had known that seeing the boy again would lead to a chain of events that would bring disaster over him in the end if he were not very careful!

Ruffling through his red mob of hair Tetsu knew that he had some serious soul-searching to do or else, he would end up dead if he weren't very watchful.

In addition, Leon was not the only difficulty to consider for Tetsu in his chain of thoughts here, D was another and the entire circumstances of what could happen if he pulled this through were to consider. Another growl left his lips; the boy had grown into exactly that kind of a being that he had always wanted as a mate. Gorgeous, kind, gifted and simply the perfect candidate for Tetsu to spend the rest of his existence with.

An existence that, under certain circumstances could become a very, very long one if one knew how long Tao Tie did live. His species could live for thousands of years and Tetsu himself, he was already older as anyone else in the apartment besides D and Ten and in this house. Not even Khan was as old as Tetsu, who had seen the old China Empire be born and fall and was born in the Chang period.

The most of the time he had roomed the wild forests of old. Or he had simply slept through a millennia or two inside of a grave inside of his materialization focus in this world. He had been trapped inside of the bronze necklace that resembled his face in a stylized mask and given to the dead emperor as an otherworld gift. He had slept a forced sleep for the long time due the sheer need to survive in the grave without any food.

He had given into the need to sleep until he could escape and had done so.

There had been no way out of that cursed place and his claustrophobic tendencies came from that time spend inside of that smelly and awfully place with the rotting corpses of that cursed man and the other unfortunate souls he had taken with him into death. In the end, Tetsu had been freed by an earthquake that had opened the old tomb up enough to let Tetsu escape it. His riches came from his robbing that place in return for having been forced to spend the long time in there. One of his later hosts had dug the riches out for him.

Up until today, Tetsu held many of the items of the former emperor in his owning.

Pieces of the emperor, of the with him buried concubines and servants and of the soldiers that Tetsu had stored away in a safe place for his personal usage. Under many other things, the skull of the cursed man was now his toilet brush holder. Tetsu could be scrupulous as that when enraged too much. He had systematically robbed the graves of each member of the line of the emperor in return for what they did to him. Only two he had not robbed to destroy their bones and those two had been the graves of people who had been in one case a good ruler and in another that of a loving pair that he did not want to disturb. Even Tetsu had his honor and to rob those graves had been simply wrong in his sight of things.

Besides the two aforementioned supernatural beings from before, no one here and not many in the entire world either had really an idea any longer of what and of who Tetsu really was and until now, that had been good enough for Tetsu. However, in order to get his paws onto what he wanted, Tetsu had to change that. Another problem that he had to sort out.

He stopped walking near the living room.

He needed a tranquil place to think, the balcony came to his mind. Still growling Tetsu entered the room to only freeze mid-step inside of the door-frame. Taking one look at the couple sitting across of each other onto the couches in there made him turn right on the heel and promptly walk out again. What looked rather funny to the onlooker, if one had seen it that was. He soo did not need to be a part of those two's conversations right now!

Cussing up a storm the beast changed back into his animal form and hid finally inside of the dark storeroom of the kitchen in the end.

At least, here he had some silence and peace until someone found him in here by accident. If it were another of the other pets, he would bite them away. He needed to sort his disaster-prone attraction to Christopher Orcrot out and he would do it Now before he went and did something stupid in the next days. Moreover, hell and brimstone over those who dared to disturbed him… well, besides Chris. Nevertheless, that was exactly the root of the dilemma, wasn't it? He and his cursed instincts and desires! With another foul oat muttered, Tetsu buried his nose inside of his pelt in silent defeat.

This was becoming ridiculous rather fast! He needed to calm down or he would go and simply jump the teenager in the end, with a low growl he begun mindlessly to lick over his fur. The mind busy already with thinking and scheming.

Inside of the living room, D and Leon stared each other down.

Both had not even noticed Tetsu come and go. D because he waited for Leon to explode or do something similar and Leon because he thought the questions over inside of his head.

Jill, who originally wanted to go onto the terrace like Tetsu before, rerouted her way just like Tetsu had done so when seeing them sit there and went to the office room instead to busy herself. Khan who had been right behind her with Dean stopped abruptly when he saw her reaction. He took one look inside of the room and as well thought it better to be as far away as possible from the two on the couches. He dragged the confused Dean along with him to the office room. Ten just shook his head at all of them and went into Jill's room to take a short nap on her bed.

Rajid, seeing the tableau unfold before him, shrugged and choose to rather crawl with Daiyu back to her room instead. He loved playing with the little princes! She was too cute for words. He was himself still very young for his species, Daiyu was the perfect playmate for the young tom and her giggles and baby laughs made him always feeling happy.

He had longed like all of his kin, for something to protect and watch over. It was Rajid's very nature to do so.

The problem was to find a worthy place or person nowadays. Temples that were still truly holy places to guard had often a guardian already. Left not much choices for him to choose from and he was particular in his requirements of a place or a person. Rajid did not accept everything or everyone as his charge of protection!

He was after all a descendant of Bastet's holy guardians and as such, meant to have at least a greater temple or a royal house to guard and to protect.

Daiyu meet his criteria in so far that she was a pure soul. Thus that, the tom knew something that even the esteemed count did not: he could smell the blood of an old line inside of the child. Most likely, she had gotten it through her mother. He needed to ask the Chinese beast for more when he was in the mood again to answer Rajid's questions.

As it was, Daiyu's late mother had a thin lineage trailing back to the houses of the ancient royals of that land. It would make her live difficult for sure but she was now under the protection of the spirits and he would be found dead before Rajid let someone else take his place from her side again! You didn't find real princes to guard every day.

Purring lovingly the young tom let her play with his tail while he rubbed his head against hers, he simply loved the attention she bestowed onto the cat. He only wondered a little about it that he could smell something in Chris and Leon too that wasn't normal. He really needed to tell the count about that, Rajid thought. It wasn't something otherworldly or of mythical origin, rather of and ages old origin if he wasn't mistaken here.

His senses in this were sharper as that of the rest of everyone else in the shops and beyond.

His sole purpose in life depended onto his gift to smell out royal bloodlines after all. The Orcrot's had such a bloodline in their veins if he wasn't mistaken here and much so. No biggy, an extra price if anything for his Kami masters. Not of Asian or Oriental origin rather of European actually, if Rajid was correct. He wasn't so surprised anymore why everyone was so attached to this family. He could smell it in their scents what was driving all around of the members of this clan so badly to them all the time. As well, what made Chris such an enigmatically alluring young man to the Tao Tie and Leon to such a charismatic emperor material in the end: it was their bloodline heritage.

Licking her tiny nose playfully the tom purred up a storm what had the little girl laugh happily.

Leon had enough of pussyfooting around the crux of their problems.

True, he had known on a certain level that his unhealthy attraction to this D had never been only one-sided but to hear D speak it out aloud and in that manner… Leon was a bit shocked and felt pleased at the same moment. He tried to put into words what he wanted to say. Give a voice to all of his musings of the last years.

In the end, he chooses to take the direct route, the one most comfortable for him and went with it.

"Nope, can't say that I know what happens when a Kami falls in love with a human." He gave D a hurt look. "Does it include being thrown from your ship? Or maybe, chasing you over the entire darn globe? Because that was what has happened to me, as well as you may recall and none of it was pretty either to endure." Across of Leon D stared down to his folded hands with an expression of regret. He had not awaited the cop to come to the point that quickly.

Leon seeing that look, grimaced too before he uncrossed his arms again… when had he crossed them?

Shaking it off, the cop heaved a sigh. "Look D, it is like this: if the old man had not happened to me, where would I be now? Inside of one of your shop rooms, chained to a wall?" The Kami made a noise of disagreement but Leon waved it off. He could not let D have the upper hand this time, not with so much on the stage for both of them and so many others as well, if he had understood it right. The old monk had taught the captain well in those gone days.

He firmed his resolve and went on mercilessly.

"Was I ever more for you as a human pet? Am I so wrong in my assumptions, that exactly that and worse would have happened in the end, D? We both are old enough to stop playing around, damn it! I am not a pet to be owned, D; I am a human being and so are my daughter, Chris, Jill and Dean. We need air, to make our own decisions and our freedom and you know that also, if you are honest with yourself for once."

D gave Leon a distressed look, when had the Leon grown into such a confident man…?

The old monk came to his mind and slowly he got it, from whom Leon might had heard about what others of his kindred had done to humans in the past that had captured their interest at one time. In the history, such things as that what Leon implied here could have happened to him and the others. Sadly, if he was truly honest then D did know that he would have done something similar as that in the end most likely. To keep Leon with him for eternity, so that the human D could not live without would never leave him again.

D knew all too well that he had left the man and not the other way around. Sure, it had been to get Leon into his grasp at that time but he still had done that.

What right had he now to invade Leon's live like this? A chocked sound left his throat; he didn't like the feeling that now welled up inside of him. The man across of him was right and D suddenly felt the urge to hide away somewhere from the fiery Safire gaze that left no room for silken covered lies. What had he expected? Of course, Leon would be angry with him once he had found out what could have happened to him and his brother in the past if he had ever caught up with D.

Leon wasn't even so far from the hook as one would have thought.

Once Leon would have caught up with him, in a country far enough away from America so that he could not have turned to others for help without a hassle, D would most likely have done such and worse. Furthermore, once having the man inside of the shops halls, Leon would have been at D's mercy. Under his full influence there, and D realized with horror that he Would have succumbed to the temptation to use his powers to keep Leon with him by force…

It was a terrifying realization for the Kami to acknowledge.

The old monk had told Leon too much! Told him enough to make his Lion turn around for good and run from D in the end. For a brief moment, D really hated the man for it, even well knowing that the monk had only saved Leon from such a fate in the end. After a few more moments, D was glad that the old man had done so. It had saved Leon and him a great heartache in the end. Even with now having to sit out Leon's considerable anger at D.

Leon watched the feelings play over D's face before he talked again. Good, D had gotten the point!

"Do you really think that I could have lived like that, D? I am no ones plaything or marionette. I Do Love You, the gods know that I damned do so but I would rather kill myself before I would let one of your kin dictate my life for me!" Across of Leon, D shrunk into the couch under him a little, hearing Leon voice his rage out so bluntly. Then he sat up again when the words finally fully registered with his brain.

"Yo.. you… you what?!"

Leon laughed tiredly, whilst one of his hands smoothed his hair out of his face. The gesture and sound together gave him a weary appearance that made D's heart clench suddenly painfully inside of his chest.

"Do you really believe me to be that dense to ignore the facts given to me, D?" He gave the gapping Kami a wry smile and stood to finally step onto the veranda to stare out over the ocean. His nemesis followed him a bit awkwardly after a few seconds to lean against the balustrade of it weakly.

His voice held a faraway tinge when Leon spoke again.

"I may sometimes be a clown and a hothead, D but I am not thick and nor am I blind. I never lied to myself before and will not begin with it now because it is so convenient to hide behind them instead to confront my own fears. My mother told me once that everything happens for a reason in life and that to ignore your feelings will only bring you to ruin, I never forgot that. She was right, you know. Even as slow as I can be it, I am not foolish enough to ignore what I feel, want and desire.

It would be an ill-advised thing to do and I am not a foolish man, D.

I happen to know my mind and wishes very well, trust me in that!" He gave the blushing Kami next to him a look that made D gasp and flush some more. Weakly he grasped the fence behind him when the hot gaze of Leon, filled with such longing, desire and want hit him full force.

Mercifully, the magnetic man next to D rerouted his burning gaze back to the sea and D found out that breathing had somehow become a hassle over the last seconds. His chest heaved air back into his burning lungs once he found the ability to breathe back. Was that the same man that he had left?

No his tiny mind voice supplied D with the already known answer no Leon was not.

The Leon that D had known had been insecure of such things; at least he had always thought it in the past that Leon was it. Since the man never had acted on his wishes, dreams nor on his desires either concerning D. Now, he questioned his former theory and in doing so, D had to admit that this man that Leon had become, that he was even better as the one that D had left behind. He came to another deduction on the way there: D wanted this new Leon, Badly and in every way, Leon would let D have him!

Next to him, Leon chuckled darkly to himself, whilst leaning against the wall of the terrace too.

"Life is ironic, don't you agree, D?"

Next to him, D gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that, Leon?" Leon shrugged. "Even despising you for what you nearly did to me, I think I needed those years of traveling to find myself in the end in the last place expected. That I needed to find that old monk to find out what I really want… If that isn't ironic to you as well, then what it is, I ask you."

His blue eyes had a strange thoughtful light inside that had D chuckle along with Leon after a while.

"I guess that could appear to be so. I also think that I needed the time to figure out to myself what I crave, Leon."

Both individuals looked back out over the sea with a slight blush after the words had left their mouths.

"You said… you do love me?"

Leon gave the rather unusually timid sounding D not a verbal answer. Instead, he just gazed at the Kami next to him with a look that showed all of what he had been hiding inside of his heart for much too long a time, before he looked back at the endless blue in front of both. He had seen the answering light of the same emotions inside of the dual colored eyes of D and for Leon as well as for D that was enough for now to know.

For the next hour, all what the two did was to stand next to each other onto Leon's gallery in silence.

No word more was spoken between them. Instead, an extraordinary relaxed feeling silence had gained supreme reign over them both. For all the time that they had not seen each other, both still needed no words to convey to the other of what they felt at such times. It was easily to see in the relaxed stances of the two. Standing just near enough to feel the others body heat with not bodily touching at all. In a way, it was more intimidate as if they had held hands.

Both had much to think about and did so.

Jill who had shortly gone to the kitchen around noon to get some drinks for Khan, Dean, Ten and herself saw them standing there and heaved a sigh of relieve when seeing them this way together.

Whatever they had talked about in the past hours, it seemingly had done them much good. It wasn't over, oh no, but the dark tension that she had felt between the two men in the beginning had gone and left for good. Instead, now she felt another kind of tension between the two grow. She grinned lopsided at that, if Jill was concerned, it was about time that those two acknowledged their magnetism to each other. Everyone else already did so since a long time.

Jill did not disturb the two and in its place, choose to look into Chris room to check on the teenager.

Inside, the boy held his sleeping niece in his arm while he read one of his study books. The tom napped on his lap and Tetsu was nowhere in view. "Where is Tetsu?" Chris shrugged carefully. "I don't have a clue, Jill. He vanished this morning on me suddenly. Have you seen him?" She thought back to the noises that she had heard earlier, coming from the kitchen closet and shrugged.

"Maybe. Hey Chris? I think he is somewhat napping inside of the kitchen stockroom, I think its better we leave him alone there for a while, ok? He sounded a bit moody to me."

The youth gave her a bemused glance but then he nodded. "Uhm… sure? I hope that that will pass soon. He did such before in the shop too, when I was still little. Hid away inside of the most curios of places all the time then. Sometimes not even D could locate him then. I need to catch up on my studies anyways. The silence is helping me here. Although I wish, I had his help here with my Chinese studies. His is flawless like that of the counts; the language is so darn hard to learn, I will tell you!"

While Chris went back to his book with a grimace, Jill closed the door to his room and sniggered silently to herself.

In her ears rung still the lowly mumbled curses of the Taotie in that she had accidentally listened in. Somehow, Jill had the feeling that several people had today a bit of soul-searching to do in here. Wisely, the woman went back to the others who were still busy with helping her to clean out the room from the boxes and other stuff stored inside and left the rest of the apartments currently occupants to their musings.

If what she could piece together from the mumblings of the obviously agitated Tetsu from before, then the Totetsu had really some issues to solve out.

Ten gave her a questioning glance when she came into the nearly cleaned out office room and gave him his soda but shrugged his curiosity off once he saw Jill shake her head slightly at his look. He too had once gone into the kitchen, after his nap and had overheard Tetsu's mumbles coming from the closet. Ten rightly figured that it was that what Jill had presently going through her mind and heaved a box out of the room instead to ask her out.

Sometimes it was better to leave others to solve their dilemmas out on their own.

Especially when said other had sharp fangs and claws and a hellish bad temper that one could count on to snap once one tried to pry into their businesses uninvited. In the past, Ten had more then one romp with Tetsu because of his cursed curios nature and not every one of their fights had ended with him on the top when finished. The Taotie was almost equal to his powers and at least as old as Ten was it himself. The two were the oldest of the beasts that currently existed inside of the ship.

Wishing the sweat out of his red eyes the beast looked at the others in the elevator and grinned at Khan's painful grimace. The Helldog hated the elevator with a passion that was bordering on madness. He too hated to loud thing but was glad for its usefulness.

To lift them all and then carry the boxes down into the basement would have been a bit much, even for the mythical creatures currently playing humans in here.

Jill had told the guards that they were visitors of Leon and them and Dean had backed that story up. Ten had gone and changed the reports so they did fit their story that the earlier shift had let them in. He was it too who had marked them as trustworthy to the humans in their reports. They were nearly finished now. All that was left to do was to go and get whatever Dean could salvage from his former home.

After putting the rest boxes away, the four did do just that.

With Jill driving Leon's van, while Khan grumbled in the backseat about bossy females that knew absolutely no fun. She had simply hit him over the head repeatedly when he tried to scare Jill into it to let him drive them. What most likely would have ended in the premature end of Leon's trusty Mercedes Van if she had let him.

Ten, scoring the front seat next to her grinned at the various sounds of pain and Dean's dry comments at Khan for being that dense as to invoke the wrath of Jill in the end. She had used an old broom to hit it home to Khan that she did not fear him and that she would stop on nothing to get her will if needed. He sported now a good deal of bumps on his head for his former insolence, the fox sniggered madly.

He had more fun here with them all as he had in ages!

It was late evening when D and Leon finally stirred out of the spell that had kept them enthralled since morning.

Both had at one time sat down onto the chairs that Leon kept onto the balcony and had yet to say something to each other again. This was how Chris found them when Tetsu had sent him to get the two for dinner. He took one look at the couple and chooses instead to bring them their meals outside. Silently he placed their dishes onto the small table between the men and went inside again.

Standing inside the kitchen door, Tetsu watched him do so and then sit down with an approving nod.

Obviously those two were not finished with whatever was going on, the Taotie thought. A new growl left his lips then he turned back into the kitchen. "I don't that think they will come back inside from that damned balcony at any time soon. We can eat."

He told the others while he sat down onto the chair next to Chris. He sighed and put some of the short cooked meat onto his plate while Chris gave him a smile and a nod. "Yeah, same as he said. I think those two really need to be left alone right now. Can you please pass me the rice, Jill?" He held out his hands over the table for Jill to give him the bowl.

Next to her, Ten had already begun to decorate his share of rice with vegetables and the meat whilst humming contently. His mouth was already watering from the wonderful smells of the feast that the moody Totetsu had cooked in his need to keep himself busy if he wasn't mistaken here. Every time Tetsu did that, he cooked the most delicious meals possible.

Ten only hoped that this meant that Tetsu had found a solution for his growing troubles and that Ten would not have to step in if needed in the future.

"We better leave them be. This had a long time coming and to judge from what I saw earlier, they are still in the thinking phase…" He shook his silver head while he used the soy sauce given to him by Tetsu who nodded sagely. "Not to mention the scents that those two give off all the time I walk in on them, Bah!" Dean was already eating his share that Khan had sliced for him and now the Hellhound ate silently his fare of the food as well.

Daiyu was already abed, feed, washed, changed and all could hear her giggles from her room. The tom had also eaten already and most likely entertained the little girl right now.

Tetsu twitched his nose for a moment in annoyance before he tore into his food.

Next to him, Chris shrugged seeing this and ate too. When he had gone to the kitchen for her bottle Tetsu had it already ready and had given it to him without a word about it where he had went to all day. The young man let him be and had simply feed his little niece. He had missed his friend today but something had told Chris all the time to leave Tetsu be when he was thinking on searching Tetsu out.

He just hoped that Tetsu was ok now.

He did not want to miss any more time that he could spend with the Taotie as absolutely necessary. He had not simply missed the mythical beast in the past years; Christopher had really mourned the loss of his dearest friend for all the past years nonstop. Nothing could replace the moody friend of his in Chris life. Not his family, not Leon and nothing that Chris had done had managed to make him forget Tetsu.

If his guesses were correct then Tetsu had needed some time alone to think something important through. In the past, his friend had often done the same when such times arose. Chris had then left him alone too. He only hoped that Tetsu would not leave him again, Chris didn't think that he would survive a second loss of the being that was most precious to his heart for another time without any fallouts for him in the follow.

What a weird day, the youth thought while munching on his mouth-watering meal.

Outside, D and Leon ate in silence.

"D?" The Kami looked up at Leon from his rice and vegetables. He had missed Tetsu's cooking the last days. He was too used to the Totetsu's brilliant cooking skills he figured and currently savored his meal. "Yes, Leon?" The man put his fork down to take a sip of his juice. Then he put the glass down again. "Where do we go from here?" The Deity knew not to answer that question either for once.

Playing a bid with a carrot with his fork, D thought that over. "I actually do not know, Leon. My original plan was to tell you what the council of my kin has debated about in the last years and to take you all back with me to the shop… now I begin to see how selfish that idea was. Truth is I understand now that I am not the one here who has to make such a choice for you and the others. It is your life that I thought to rule over so callously. If anyone has to make a decision here, it would be you and not me or any other of my kindred. I am sorry for my earlier foolishness, Leon."

When he looked up, Leon's eyes held gratitude and understanding inside of them. As well as happiness, D felt a blush creep up on him and looked quickly down again.

"That's correct. Although, I am not much against that idea for once as I was before, since the other stuff is seemingly cleared up now. To be honest, I fear for our safety, even inside of this guarded building." D nodded slowly. "I will no longer do such a thing and neither try to force you to do anything that you do not wish to do." Leon nodded sharply at the words. "Thought so. How is it we try the middle way, D?"

The Kami looked at Leon quizzing, what was going through Leon's mind?

"I mean, how is if we try to make this work in little steps? We both know that it has no use to try to avoid each other or to pretend it that nothing happened or any other stupid stuff like that. That has never worked for us before and most likely, it never will."

Both laughed this time.

"If you insinuate what you humans call dating, I fear that we both will have no patience for that, I agree."

Another shared laughter filled the air around them out.

"Naa, I don't think that would work for us. We are both too old for such stuff and know each other already too well for such nonsense and beating around the bushes will do no good in this… I rather thought of something else." Leon told D whilst rubbing his head boyishly what endeared him to the Kami across from him. ""What is running through that inane mind of yours now again, Leon?!" D huffed out after a few more seconds, now clearly at the end of his patience with Leon's way to talk.

The man laughed throatily what send shivers down D's spine and made him shudder delicately hearing it. Leon had always had that effect on him with those chuckles since D knew Leon. It was one of the things that had gotten to him so badly in the past, had made him want the man so utterly as his mate.

"What I mean is the following, how is we both stop for one, to play each other a fool, secondly talk out conditions for that plan of moving us and thirdly but most importantly, can I kiss you?"

D sputtered for a moment before he felt a new one of those cursed blushes run over his face and in moments his entire face seem to glow from it. Not trusting his voice, he simply nodded after a few moments looking embarrassed at Leon. If the look of the man was any indication then D had bitten off more as he could chew and he slowly became aware of that.

Leon looked at him for a few seconds longer out of burning eyes before he suddenly stood, rounded the small table in mere moments and before D knew what had hit him, Leon had him caged by his arms in his chair. Another smoldering look and Leon's lips were on his.

D had always known that Leon was a passionate man.

He had just never figured out the true dept of Leon's passions and the man made sure on it that D learned that error of his in those moments that the kiss lasted. Soft lips were devoured from another hungry mouth and before D knew it, Leon's hot tongue had slipped between his lips demandingly and begun deftly to map the new place out. Leon left D no room to escape him this time, he hungrily and mercilessly explored all that there was, rubbing his tongue recklessly against that of D, coaxing him to respond in kind.

Long arms wound around Leon's neck while his wound around D and lifted the slender body effortlessly out of the chair.

To then close around D like steel bands, to never let go again. He felt the long nails of his partner scratch lightly over the sensitive skin of his neck while Leon rubbed a hand over the slim back. The two forgot to think for a while. When Leon stopped to kiss D and leaned back a little to breathe, D found himself back, chasing the heavenly mouth for a moment.

The two breathed hard and simply stared into their eyes for minutes before Leon cursed lowly and dipped in for another mind-blowing kiss.

He had enough of this!

All the past years Leon had fought with his desires and wants, had been in an constant all out war with his mind versus his impossible love and his bodies needs. He was finished with it, would not, could not hold it back anymore or Leon was sure that he would burst of his sexual frustration one day! Ending the kiss as fast as he had begun it, he cursed again before he suddenly bend down a little and simply threw the stunned D over on of his wide shoulders.

Before D could gather his wits again, Leon marched already down the hallway with him.

Growling and cussing softly under his breath all the way and ignoring the shocked looks of the group in his kitchen on his way. D was too flabbergasted for once to even find the energy to complain to the rough handling of his person from Leon. All he could do was to hold on. Occasionally he slapped Leon on his back in his protest but that was all what the completely stupefied Kami could currently do.

When reaching his room, Leon pushed the door open, marched inside and closed it with his heel behind them both in one fluid motion.

Then he went over to his bed, threw D onto the mattress to turn again.

He locked the door before he took the key and threw it into a random corner of the room. Turning around again, he leaned against the door for a moment to give D a burning look that killed every coherent response in D the second that he saw it. For once in his long life, D felt real fear creep up on him.

Fear and a creepy kind of thrill that left him breathless, aroused and wordless.

That look of Leon left D as hot and bothered as rarely another one before, he caught himself crawling backwards a little, and away from that force of nature, that Leon currently resembled. He never got far because suddenly the man straightened and walked calmly and slowly over to the bed. Within a few seconds, he kneeled onto the mattress and crawled over to the now in anticipation trembling D. All the while stripping his off clothes. First, the shirt went flying, then the shoes. Until Leon was only clad in his skin and his jeans anymore.

D gulped visibly at the shown muscles of Leon's lean body frame, trying bravely to stop himself from simply grab the cop and map those muscles out with his itching fingers.

"I am done waiting and pinning for what I could not have in the past, D!" He told the other in a husky voice that sends new shivers down D's spine. "I will not let you out of here before I had you or you me. Either way is fine with me as long as we both get laid! So if you want to back out, now is the time, if not, I will not be able to stop until this cursed need of both of us is sated this time, D."

Silence filled the space between them both out. D gulped a few times before he threw his resolve out of the next window and reached out with both arms to the temptation that was the man that reminded him so much on a Lion. Leon was right here, he wanted him, this and they both had waited too long to judge from the raw need that suddenly filled D and made his blood boil.

Without further ado, Leon pounced on D with a feral snarl that rivaled any other predator to shame.

_**Before someone is killing me here now, the lemons will be posted later on AFFN. I have the same author name there as well as here. Since the rules here allow Lemons no longer, I will have to post them there separately, as inside the full chapters there. I will put the story up there in full in the next days. Here I choose to stop at this point. I don't want to be banned from this side, ppl, sorry. **_

**Until next time, Suryallee ****^_- **

**Glossary:**

(**DAIYU (****黛玉****).** Chinese name for girls, meaning "**black jade**," from (黛) tai4 1306a "black, umber, to paint the eyebrows," and (玉) yü4 1685c "jade, jewels; beautiful, precious." (A Mandarin-Romanized Dictionary of Chinese, MacGillivray, 1921).)

(**EGYPTIAN CAT,** also known as **Pharaoh Cat**. Died out species of cats, settled into the time of the old Egypt's in the time of before the pyramids. Had long ears, short fur and were long legged. Bigger as today's housecats and much wilder. An adaption of that original species still lives today. Genetically speaking. Some were said to be otherworldly creatures that could be guardians of temples or even gods with strong powers.)

(**HELLDOG,** a beast of old folklore and European myths, origin in Greece mythology as a guardian of the doors to the underworld. Also known for hunting down souls of mortals who dare to cross their domains. Known for guarding demons and sometimes vampires and in some cases even to guard Gods if needed in European legends.)

(**HARPY,** bird alike beast with a woman torso from the myths and legends of the old Greek. Told of to lure unsuspecting sailors off their paths to sink their ships and then drown and eat them. In other cases told to sing humans into madness.)

(**KAMI,** a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(**KITZUNE, **mythological fox like creature, sometimes called a Deity, sometimes a demon of Japanese origin. Has usually more then one tail, the most dangerous are the ones with nine, the highest number to reach for them. Are seen as clever tricksters that can be dangerous as they can be kind. Also seen as the fortune deities of harvest.)

(**TAO TIE**, also known as **Totetsu** in Japanese. Originally a beast alike deity or half deity out of the times of the Chang Dynasty in ancient China. Known for being insatiable in their hunger and for eating everything. Can fuel the positive imagination of artists, is sometimes known to be a muse for them as well. In old folk tales of ancient China to modern days, it is said that they can take on a harmless appearance to lure children into their grasp to eat or keep them)


	7. Chapter 7

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

_I would like to apologize for my late updating of this story. My boss has ridden my ass into the ground __lately __ for no reason. I had to work overtime and to make things worse, my family needed much longer as hoped to recover from that damned virus! _

_I also would like to thank you all for the wonderful support of my story! You rock, people! ^_^ _

_Just to make that clear, I mean the two comments that I deleted and not the honest meant reviews of those people who actually tried to even help me out , later. Like the one person who told me about my bad habit to use then instead of than… ^^; sorry for that, people! I did only notice it when you told me about it, thanks! I actually needed so long to update because I checked this chapter over about ten times or so and there are still errors, I just know it. _

_And now to the complains of some, un-named, persons about my grammar; _

_If you have such troubles with it, why does no one offer to help me out with it? I still search for a reliable Beta. Sadly, none turned up so far. Only one person offered and I still wait for the answer of my last message to her. Until I have one, you will have to read the story with my mistakes in it or leave. Sorry, but I am really tired to repeat myself. _

_My native language is German and I am self-taught, so shoo! I will delete such comments from you people as I did before, I am actually rather good in that since a few years now. I would like to see you try to write in my native tongue… or maybe better not! Ugh. _

**_Sincerely, Suryallee _**

**Glossary:** Please look at the bottom of the story, due a complain from a person!

**Listening** to Mike Oldfield, Song of the Sun

**Say you will, say you won't, make up your bloody mind, D! **

**Chapter seven: Psst! Men are talking. **

"Damn! I have not come, immature like this since I was in high school. Argh!"

Next to Leon, D laughed softly. "I can't exactly say that I have ever been in one but I too haven't sought for release this way in a very long time." Both looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Leon and D reddened rapidly to then break out into a new bout of embarrassed chuckles together. "We are pretty stupid, aren't we, D?" The Kami next to Leon nodded. "I would think so too. Thought Leon, both of us out of different reasons."

Leon scrunched his nose at that.

"You could say that. Too many regressed feelings and all the forcefully ignoring over a too long time span can do that to one I think. I honestly thought that you hated me until the old monk made me face my innermost self. If I wanted to do that or not wasn't important for him only that I finally did so was it. The damn old man did not let me get away with any of my old excuses for one time only. Oh hell, what do we do now?"

D turned until he could face Leon.

"I think that your suggestion of taking baby steps is the best way to deal with our situation this time, Leon. As much as it vexes me, I honestly believe it would be best to do it that way. We have lived solitary lives for a longer while. As I see it, we will have to relearn our ways… you have changed, Leon. In many ways and so have I. There are so many differences now that we both need to get used to that are different as of before." D let a sigh escape his red lips.

It was mirrored from Leon not much later with a groan.

"D? There is something that I wanted to ask you for a long time now. What exactly is your kin anyways? I mean, I remember your old mans speech about Kami but what are You?" He propped his upper body up on one arm while Leon reached out with the other hand to stroke some of D's black hair out of the Counts face with a tenderness that belied his normally so gruffy self. The deity shortly closed his eyes with a purr of pure delight. He relished in the tender caress, having wished for it often in the past but never dared to fight actively for it to have Leon touch him like that.

"The best explanation that I can come up with is that my people are Earth spirits, Leon. We are a part of Nature itself in a way. So, to call us earth or nature spirits would be the best wording for what we are." His mismatched eyes opened again to look into the blue eyes of the man next to him that was still tenderly caressing his dark hair. "It's green and not black…" Leon murmured softly, distracted by the sudden revelation right before his wondering eyes in the fading sunlight that played in D's hair. "Your hair is actually of a really dark, almost blackish green color, D. I always thought it was simply black. Now I can see that I was wrong. Go on, sorry to have interrupted you."

D smiled at Leon's curios observation.

Ever the cop, he realized. The perceptive nature of Leon was a part of what had always drawn D to the man. "In the Asian cultures we are called deities but that you know already." Next to him, Leon nodded calmly. The old monk had told Leon as much and even more. "Once your kin was called gods in the European history too, right D?"

At that, D nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, but the European culture discarded that a longer while ago along with their respect for all things of Nature. Instead, they strove actively for it to conquer the earth and to control the world. Out of fear, other misleads emotions and the want to rule above everything. Coexistence isn't something that humans have ever liked to do with the other children of this world, Leon. Neither do humans like it much to recognize it that they are not on the top of the food chain everywhere in the world as they are wont to believe. The older your race grew, the worse it got. Instead of understanding and living a good live, the most humans strove to fulfill their wants and darkest desires, not caring for one minute what had to suffer for their goals on their way there.

Power, which became something that the human race have ever reached for in order to overcome everything.

However, with supremacy comes responsibility.

The duty to use it wisely and with care!

When the Emperor went onto his hunt for power, he didn't care about it how he got it, only that he wanted to own the superiority that my ancestors possessed in his eyes, Leon." D gave Leon a stern look. Leon nodded calmly; he understood pretty well so far what D tried to tell him. "He wanted that for his line, for himself and wanted immortality and the absolute reign over the animal kingdom as well as the human one. Not caring about it that that was simply impossible for him to reach and control!

He was human Leon and not a deity my ancestors.

Everything in the world has their place, time and reason to be. Only humans have always wanted more. More power, more money and every one of their wishes fulfilled. My kin had to pay a huge price for that as did the other creatures of this world." For a moment, D looked like the angry god creature that he was always within, like the very hateful vengeance deity that the monk had called the D's and their kin to be.

Leon shuddered when seeing the inhuman rage glint inside of D's eyes.

"But not all humans are the same, D! Can't your kin not see that? We are not all like him and neither did He ever represent the entire humanity either!" He told D rather hotly. The Kami looked back at Leon. Gradually the look in the eyes softened down until D looked rather thoughtful back into Leon's blue gaze.

"I understand where that argument is coming from, my dear Lion. Believe it or not, I truly do."

He told Leon while gazing calmly into Leon's eyes. "Normally I would agree with you that one individual does not embody an entire race. However, in the case of humankind, you are sadly mistaken in some of what you believe in, my poor Leon. Truth is it rather, that over the last thousands of years your race turned to the worse as instead to the better path, Leon. Don't forget that my kinfolk still watches humanity and deals out justice in our own way since ages past.

I agree with you however that not all humans are bad beings by default.

The most simply lost their way in what you call civilization. I do not always sell a pet to deal out dead, Leon! A contract is a contract. Three simple rules to hold in… is that to much to ask to hold in? Three plain rules for the owners to keep in and still they fail repeatedly. It is true that more often then not they choose their own demise already the minute they put their feet into our halls.

Just not in the meaning you have perceived it to be in the past, Leon."

D's eyes turned cold, inhuman almost. The man suppressed a shudder seeing the alien look inside of the two differently colored eyes. For a moment, even Leon felt scared of that look.

"It is true that I hold no love for the human race. You, from all beings should know that best." Leon nodded slowly. The almighty knew that Leon had learned that detail in the past when dealing with D! D and his people held absolutely no love or understanding for humankind as a rule.

"Never less, I am not without compassion and neither are the rest of us. What you perceive as a treat is often only what you do not understand. Even I have understood by now that not every single human is the same, Leon. That is simply impossible as well as you know. What irks me beyond recognition is simply that the most do not even try to live, as they should! Do not think that I mean with that, that they should live a life that we dictate them to live, Leon!

What I mean is that they should at least hold their own laws and moral rules in! What they typically do not. You Leon should understand perfectly well, what I try to say. You have seen of what your fellow humans are capable off for too many times to count in your line of duty. Have you not, Leon?"

The man next to D had squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

Leon did not like it but had to agree with D in some points here.

Not in all, he still thought that D's kindred had it partially wrong here but still, in some lines of reasoning they had it much too right for Leon's likening. Truth was that he had seen more often then not of what D spoke here. Had often seen why the owners of D's pets had ended up the way that they did. There were still some cases that he did not agree with it how D had handled them, believing in it that there could have been a better way to handle the problems. Mostly, if Leon was honest here with himself, he had understood a good deal better as he wanted it why they had deserved the way that they had found their demise in the end.

This dilemma had angered and hurt Leon constantly in the past years.

His duty versus his inner musings and Leon's believes about what was right and what was wrong.

This constant tugging war inside of Leon's mind had left its scars on the mans soul. Had worn Leon out a good deal and had angered up the police officer in the last years to the verge of madness. To put it simple, Leon was often tired to see the same crime scenes over and over again. To see his fellow citizens make the same errors repeatedly again was frustrating the cop sometimes that badly, that Leon had taken to it to visit a dojo to work off his frustrations.

Before Leon exploded one day and tried to hit some sense into their blockheads instead!

"That still doesn't make a wrong into a right in the end, D!" Leon complained. He gave D a hard look. "What I mean is you and your kin judge too easily about things that you obviously often do not even understand! For example? Take that Hendrix person and his lizard lady, D. You handed them Both their dead on a silver platter. Do not get me wrong here, I do not mean to tell you that your kin do their work callously but I really believe that something with the way you look at humanity as a whole, is wrong!"

When D arched a brow, Leon sighed and than he cursed profoundly about his lack to know how to put his mind into words at times.

Sitting up Leon looked a short while at the wall before he spoke again. "Look D, what I mean to say is; did the thought ever cross your minds that you are a bit too easy with how you handle this whole thing?" D gave Leon a confused look. "What do you mean with that?" For once D genuinely tried to understand Leon's perspective instead to wave it simply off from the start. The man genuinely tried to tell him something and being a pure soul as Leon was it, made the deity step back a step and think Leon's arguments over before he judged them as false.

He needed Leon to understand his viewpoint and got it the same second that he, D had to understand Leon's as well. If this should ever work out, that was.

Leon shrugged.

"From what I have seen so far, you and the others often deal out justice to the wrong ones, D. Instead to help them to find a way to deal with their problems in a more productive way, so that all would benefit of it in the end, you go and hand them over another additional temptation that seals their fate in the end. No," Leon held up his hand to stop D from complaining at his choice of words, "let me speak my mind for once, D. Lets take that Hendrix dude again. Why did you give him the, what did you call her? A Medusa? In the first place, if you knew that it would end that way from the very start."

D glared a hole into Leon what the man calmly ignored, much to his frustration. Huffing the Kami tried to consider all before he answered Leon. Something told him that his Lion had a good reason to use these two but D couldn't fathom what Leon was up to this time.

"I did not as you call it; give the poor actor Medusa Chan to have both killed, Leon! He chooses to ignore my warnings and the rules of the contract. That was what led to both of their regrettable deaths." He told Leon in an arsenic voice. To D's surprise, Leon grinned at his words and the way D spoke them.

"Are you certain of it that it was only the man's fault, D?"

The Deity faltered when seeing the inquisitive look in Leon's blue eyes. Had he missed something here? He calmed himself forcefully down from his annoyance and tried to look at the story with Leon's eyes for once. Feeling that he was failing to see what Leon meant he shrugged helplessly at the man. "I fail to see what you imply, Leon."

Next to D Leon nodded calmly.

"As I thought that you would, D." His former arctic look mellowed down to a kinder one. "It is the same reason that I offer up to you and your kin for rethinking your way to look at us that has me believe that you did sometimes do the wrong thing in the past to humans and animals alike, D." D raised a fine brow at Leon's words. "What do you indicate here, Leon? Specify what you imply that we do wrong!"

Leon smiled sadly. "I believe that you, your grandfather and all of the others of your kin, simply fail to understand human nature, D."

"Huh?" The deity was simply flabbergasted.

"You see us automatically as the felons in everything that is happening that is negative to Nature. Instead to try to use your power and knowledge to help human kind evolve into something better, you do just go and judge. Instead to see that something good can come out of what we do or to acknowledge it even that we can be good too, you always chose to see the worst in everything that we do. You say that we humans are bad. If that is so, than I ask you D, what is it that you do, that is so different; from what you accuse humans about all the time? Is that nature? Is the way you handle all of humanity the right way to do so? Are you really sure about it that what your kindred do is always foolproof?"

For once, D had no answer for Leon at hand. He was too busy to think over what the man had said instead.

As Leon laid it out, D indeed had a problem here to reason his handling of some situations in the past.

"To come back to Hendrix and Medusa. If I have figured it out correctly, both have loved each other and could have pulled through with a bit help, yes?"

D could only nod slowly at that. He had the sinking feeling in his stomach that whatever Leon would say next would not sit well with him but was powerless to stop the man from dealing out his own brand of justice to the deity. D slowly had a suspicion to what Leon was up to here and for once, D did know that he had no arguments to deflect the blow that was to come. At least none that Leon would not rip into very tiny pieces once the words left his mouth.

"Did you explain to Hendrix why he could never look into her eyes? How he could change his life to a better one, so that both could have lived a long and good life, D? Have you even given them a chance?"

D gulped. He had been right, Leon had chosen the worst way possible to ram it home to D that sometimes his way to punish humanity was taking a toll on undeserving souls on the way that was unacceptable. Even to D himself. "No, I did not do so Leon."

Leon nodded.

"Thought so, and neither did you help the two, don't you?"

D nodded slowly, reluctantly.

"Hell D! What did you think that would happen? It is like giving a suicide a loaded gun into the hands!" Leon threw his hands up into the air in his vexation. "Hendrix, as I have learned it later, was fully caught up in the depths of his despair! He needed help, not a reprimand. His carrier had gone to the dumps, he was lethargic, he had a serious mental problem and to top it, his wife had run out on him. That role that the actor had played in the past, had taken over his real life and you gave him a wish without to teach him the consequences of one misstep or to help him see it as one. Like it or not D, in a matter of speaking, you are responsible for both of their deaths here too in a way.

His only crime was to have given up. Medusa made him try to start anew but instead to help and guide him so both could have a good live with each other, you chose to sit back and watch the drama unfold itself. Is that what you meant when you said that we do not life good lives? Is that the justice of your kind?

No, I do not mean with this that you have to go and help humanity out all of the time! Damnit! What I merely do suggest is that it has not always to end that way. D, you will never see me flutter a lid when a drug dealer, a murderer, an abusive bastard, or any other criminal is killed from one of your pets. However, in cases like theirs, you and your kin have it gotten majorly wrong in my line of thoughts! You cannot go and reduce life to such a simple thing because it is easier for you then to handle. Life, as I know it, does not work that way. Not in the animal kingdom and neither for humans."

Leon's glare was positively scorching now. To his surprise, D found out that his usual excuses did not hold a candle to the man's anger for once.

Leon sighed.

"I do not even dare to try to change your ways, D. Such would simple be impossible but I will never accept it when you or others of your kin go and make the live worse for poor buggers like that Hendrix And pets like Medusa! Both of them did not deserve that ending. Instead, they both would have deserved a little help for once. It would have made their lives better and last longer.

Humanity could be better, for all that I know if someone of your kin had taken the time to nudge us into the right direction.

Your people have all that it needs on their hands and still chose to deal out vengeance when they could have influenced us to the betterment of all? It makes simply no sense to me, D. You say that your family seeks revenge for the wrongdoings of human kind on you and the animals… so tell me, D; how does vengeance solve anything at all in the end? Wouldn't it be better instead to change the way in which we look at the world? You always told me in the past that we do not respect Nature or its creatures enough.

Oh fuck, what do I know! I am just human…"

Next to Leon, D felt not well in his skin for once. Truth to be told, that particular case sat not well with D himself up until today. He saw what Leon's problem here was. Not that he had sold the actor the beast but that D had done nothing to prevent the demise of both. As Leon did see it, D could have done differently, could have prevented the death of both, and did not.

His mind went on a journey through the last year's selling's of pets to people.

How often could he have used his influence to have a positive effect on humans and their pets instead of doing nothing? D wasn't sure, but he thought that such had been the case in some of the selling's for sure. The misguided Japanese woman and the lesser bird of paradise came to his mind. Rubbing his face, D had to face the possibility that sometimes, just sometimes the way of his kin to handle things was a bit off, of the original course.

He made a mental note to sort that particular problem out in the future.

"Leon, we are vengeance deities! We… ah, No wait here a minute!" He moved around until he could face Leon. "I see the problem and what you try to tell me, I truly do but our duty is to serve vengeance and not to help humans. And doesn't that sound just wrong in my own ears now." He shook his head while Leon gave a short laugh at D's words. "Glad that I am not the only one here who is frustrated, D."

"However Leon, what my family does is simply that, we are the guardians and avengers of nature and its creatures."

D stopped for a moment. He could not shake the feeling off that he had to talk Leon's words through with the elders of his kin before he said more. "Although I feel like I miss something here. Will you give me the time to speak with the elders of my kin before we talk this through, Leon? I see the problem that you have with what we do. To be honest it is one that I often found myself inquiry too in the last years." D really was at a loss here.

Leon was partially right in his questioning of the logic behind the way his kin handled their given task since generations, without to think over the illogic behind it all at times.

He had been questioned from the animals inside the shop, for more than one time in the past about the way his family and the other deities handled this all. It was a problem that many of the other Deities had to face as well in the late. An argument that other deities that protected humanity held into their faces all the time. A quandary that they all tried to solve out since a longer while now.

He had seen sometimes himself refuse to do his duty, in a matter of speaking, because he had felt that he would do the wrong thing if he did so.

His confusion must have shown on D's face because Leon suddenly murmured a low curse before he simple reached out and took D into his arms.

"Sorry, D. I never meant to put you between a rock and a hard place. It is just how I see the things. Believe it or not, but I honestly believe in the concept of justice and even in that of settling of scores. I couldn't do my line of job otherwise and stay sane, you know?" His hand tilted the chin of D's face up until he could gaze into the eyes of the deity. "Please try to understand it, D. I know that my race has it wrong a lot of times.

I do not exactly see the top of humanity each day, rather the lowest pits of what we are capable off is it mostly for me.

In order not to loose my hope into my own race, I have often to find a reason in what I have to look at each day. …needless to say that I often fail, D. Nevertheless, I simply refuse to give up on humanity that easily! I may not often see the good sides of life but the little that I glimpse at each day, I do treasure and let me give the hope that I need to believe further in what I do. Does that make any sense to you?"

The Kami nodded against Leon's abs.

"Yes. It does make sense to me, my Lion. It is one of the aspects on you that made me fall in love with you after all. I think we both need to rethink a lot to make this work, don't we?" Above his head, Leon nodded and than he buried his nose in the hair that faintly smelled of incense. The scent soothed Leon's whirling mind.

"I see it the same way, D. At least we two do know that we need to do so, I bet others failed to see the problems and what happened after was what made Howell and your father fail?" D groaned and rubbed his face. Leon was probably right here with that observation again.

That man had an eerily sense to detect such troubles as it looked to D.

"Most likely you are right again. I always thought it was because Howell was human and father a Kami… now I am no longer so sure about the simple way I saw the things in the past. I too saw how they looked and talked to each other that day and slowly I begin to think that both simply failed to recognize the problems between them. We would have done the same… I do not want to think about all the troubles such would have brought to us in the end. We would have gone down the same path, Leon. Not a revelation that I like to recognize for what it stands for, rest assured." The man that held D was of the same mindset in this. "Yeah, same here. Oh shit, now I somehow pity the two, D!"

"Language, Leon! Honestly, if I got a cent for each curse that you spoke in the time since I met you, Chris and I would have been rich by now!" Above him, Leon chuckled madly at the rebuff of D. "Burn! That is how I am and you know it, D. I don't think that I could ever be as polite as you are it, to be blatantly honest. Do you really want to change me into someone that I am not?" D shook his head. "No, but I honestly wish that you would cut back on that bad habit of yours, Leon!"

Leon laughed whilst scratching his head self-conscious before he leaned back into his cushions with D held to him.

"D? Let's take a nap, ok? I feel rather weary suddenly from all the talking and contemplating." The Kami in his arms simply nodded against the warm and soft skin of the man under him and kept silent to let Leon find some rest. D was also busy with it to ponder all over to find respite himself. He as well felt worn out and yet too restless at the same time. Never before had D ever questioned his duty before.

Now, D wasn't so sure anymore that to do so was the right way to handle his situation.

Because, in order to keep Leon with him for eternity and not to fall into the same trap as his father had done so, he needed to find a solution with that both, Leon and D could exist! Not an easy task to do as D realized it slowly. He was sure that this was one of the aspects, which had driven his father into his psychosis in the end.

D carefully moved up until he could watch Leon sleep.

He knew what he needed to do in order to prevent to fall into the same snare as his father before him. Papa D had tried to solve his dilemma out alone. Indoctrinated from D's grandfather to an excess that was unhealthy, his father had failed to avoid the troubles that came with love versus duty when one was careless and involved with a human to boot. D would not do the same. He resolved himself to ask whomever he found suitable to solve his impasse out.

Other deities of his line of duty came to his mind as well as some of the older mystical beings that could maybe help him out here. One was the great dragon King, Gidora of the east. The sovereign of all of the dragons. He was old enough to have seen the fell deed against his ancestors and would surely know how to find a way to solve this vexing puzzle out.

D sighed and closed his tired eyes for a second to rest them a little… before he knew it, he was fast asleep. Lulled there by Leon's steady breathing and calm heartbeat under his ear. One hand clutching on a strand of golden colored hair in his rest possessively.

Outside of Leon's door stood a curios array of very different beings.

All in a more or less shocked state of mind.

Since Leon had waltzed past them with D on his shoulder, all had been too shocked to talk even much about the witnessed. Never! Never before in history had someone dared to do such to a Kami such as D. Tetsu shook his wild mane in his absolute shellshock condition about the just seen. His nose told him what followed but still he wasn't certain for a while how to handle this strange situation.

His instinct screamed at him and the other beasts to protect D and at the same time, his intellect told him to keep his ass the hell out of Leon and D's business.

When the two begun to talk the beast finally opted for being smart and took the embarrassed Chris by his sleeve to steer the young man away from Leon's room. As Tetsu saw it, the two inside of that room needed no one around them now.

Chris just found this all confusing and hellishly awkward to deal with!

What had ridden his brother to do such a thing? Tetsu wasn't helping any here either, Chris let a sigh escape and let the Taotie steer him back to his seat. Without his former gusto, he resumed to eat before he excused himself and went to bed. The day had been too confusing for the poor teenager to understand the implications fully. With a groan, he fell into his bed and pulled the cover over his hurting head.

Tetsu shrugged seeing him go to his room.

Clear as a sunny day, that Chris would react like this, he thought. He was still just a teenager after all. Luckily, the youth had not his nose or else he would have been even more bewildered as he was it already now. Tetsu growled annoyed at the entire situation. He would have to explain it to the boy later what this all meant.

On one hand, Tetsu was glad that those two had begun to solve their troublesome relationship out. On the other hand, Tetsu realized it that this all would make the next weeks extremely awkward for everyone else on their way there. He shrugged again and ate his leftover food. He had soon to go out and hunt for some real food to sate his hunger with it. His senses told the man-eater all too clearly that he was due to it. Kahn, who had stayed seated through the entire event, cast Tetsu a look that told the Totetsu clearly that the Hellhound had caught on.

Both shrugged at each other, while Khan mouthed, _later_ to Tetsu.

Dean who also had stayed seated watched the interaction with a raised brow before he shrugged it off. Something told the agent that he was better off not knowing this time. He had his hunches about it what had made Leon react that brainless but he kept them to himself. He had enough dilemmas on his hands already that he needed to solve out without to add Leon and D's troubles to his list.

Ten finally shrugged too and with a carefree grin, the Kitsune went back to his meal. Jill took a while longer before she sighed defeated and went back to the kitchen to eat.

How typical of Leon to ignore a problem instead to first try to solve it out before he rushed into something.

But then again, maybe those two simply worked that way? She wasn't sure here but thought that it could be that way. In the past, those two had also handled many problems like this. Ignoring the problems until one found a solution later in favor to not to have to separate. Until Howell had appeared and had ended their peacefully playing house with ease in mere hours. Their strange way to cope with troubles had even worked for Leon and D.

The fallout from those days still loomed right around the horizon but seemingly those two had begun with the monumental task to solve their many arguments and differences out.

Sitting down she exchanged a look with the chewing fox spirit.

"Well, that was to expect in a way, I suppose." He told her when seeing her look. Jill nodded. "I think so too. That had a long time coming for sure. If that darn agent had not happened, no offence here, Dean, if Howell had not appeared, I bet those two would still be dancing around their attraction to each other until today." Ten sitting next to her nodded sharply at her words as did Tetsu across the table of Jill.

"I believe so too and honestly told, I think it was a good thing that the man came and destroyed that. It unquestionably caused us all lots of bull to deal with in the follow but it did make them both think about their attraction at least!" Tetsu complained while he took another load of the cooled meat and dug into it with vehemence.

Ten gave him a sharp look and than exchanged another alarmed one with Khan.

The demon nodded one time what made the Kitsune sigh. Jill, who had curiosity watched the wordless exchange and figured the problem out with the knowledge gained over many hours researching about the animals in D's shop and dropped the bomb calmly. "Hey Tetsu?" The Taotie looked up whilst chewing.

"If you need to go out to… hunt, let me before you do give you the keys to the apartment, ok?"

Tetsu nearly chocked on his meat when the implications of what Jill probably knew about his true nature made it to his brain.

At his, Khans, and Ten's wide-eyed looks, Jill shrugged casually. "Hey, do not make the error to think that Leon and I did not do our homework in the last years just because you guy's were gone for a while." She told the three, completely calm. Dean did wisely choose not to be a part of this conversation for once and took the same way out as Chris had done before.

He excused hastily himself and went to bed. Ignorance, as he figured it to be, was sometimes bliss!

In the meanwhile he walked out of the kitchen in haste, Jill watched his retread clearly amused. Than her eyes went back to the assortment of creatures in human disguise on the table.

"Honestly, what did you guy's think that we did do all the time? Twiddling our thumbs? Of course, we researched your true natures, Tetsu. As well as Chris did it, by the way." At his now clearly shocked look, she heaved a sigh. "Tetsu, who do you think has told me about what you are?" Tetsu gave her another alarmed look.

"You mean… you, he… Chris told you? How…?"

She nodded, utterly unruffled and serious. "The magic word here is, Internet my dear Tao Tie, Totetsu and so on. Man-eater is more like it, right? As I have understood it, you need to hunt and eat human flesh to sustain yourself; humans are your main diet, correct? To judge from the way that you act since this morning, I dare say; you're getting hungry?"

At her analytical look, all that Tetsu could do was to nod.

"Don't get me wrong here! I am human and as such, your eating habits are revolving for me to know, Tetsu. As are yours too by the way, Ten. Yes, I have read up about your kin also. All that I ask of you guy's is the following; would you do us all please the favor and stick with the baddies? I do not need to have to shoot you because you couldn't keep from eating humans that are not missed or innocents, ok?" At her words all three heads on the table nodded hurriedly. It rammed it accidentally home to Jill that way what Khan preferred to eat in a manner of speaking.

She groaned.

"Damnit! D really went and sent nothing but trouble here, didn't he?"

Ten had the grace to look a bit contrite at her shown unhappiness. "Uh, how to say this without to spoke you even more Jill san…. We are what we are?" The woman nodded once more. "If you want, look at it this way; your fellow humans eat animals, we consume you. I know how weird that sounds but that is the way it is. To be brutally honest, it is just an illusion of your kin to think that nothing can reach you, Jill. Sure, your fellow humans can kill or harm us in return, but that is the way that it has always been. Rest assured, none of us here hunts your kin for sport and neither kills what you would perceive as innocents either."

She gave Ten a wry glare that had the fox spirit duck his head.

"I truly hope so, Ten! Because I will personally take a rusty knife to your darn tails if I ever catch you doing otherwise! Got that in full, mister smart mouth?" He hurried to nod. As far as Ten had come to know Jill, she would go and do that if he wasn't very careful. The angry woman took her plate and placed it with a resounding bang into the sink before she stalked out of the kitchen.

Tetsu finally whistled lowly when she was gone.

"Hey Ten, what the hell did you do to anger her up that much?"

The Kitsune shrugged his shoulders. "Hell if I do know, Tetsu!"

Khan, who had been silent until now gave the fox spirit a knowing look. "Maybe he should just go and watch his mouth sometimes?" Ten gave him a glare. "No, I really mean it, Tenmaru. Nothing that one says would lessen such a message, you know. She does fully understand what we are and from what she just said, all of them besides Dean here do so already and it is just a matter of time before he too comes to know it. They are humans after all. You oaf! Of course they will feel threatened and disgusted! What did you two loony bins did think how they will react when confronted with our eating habits?"

He shook his head at the other two's twin glares.

"Take it easy you two morons! Moreover, slowly! They will need a lot time to adjust to our ways of seeing things. How do you think do my fellow demons tame the pure souls on that we got a hold on? If we would go and simply try to break them in, they would escape our hold on them at the same minute that we do! We learned that the hard way, trust me in this. If you want to have them ease up to you enough to have them want to be with you in the future, step back a pace you two fools!

Especially you, Tetsu.

Chris is a teenager, He will not tolerate one misstep of yours, no matter how much the boy does already love and worry about you all the time. Hell, that he did not worry a hole into the carped in his fretting about you today was it all!" Across of Khan, Tetsu's palm did meet his face with a resounding slap in his annoyance at his own idiocy. Ten called himself an fool and a moron in Japanese under his breath.

Khan gave both a glare before he heaved a sigh of resignation at their acts.

"What have I ever done to deserve this?!" He asked in vain in his total exasperation at the situation he found himself in, while looking for divine help up at the ceiling. Finally, when no answer came forth, Khan leaned forward and fixed both other mythical beasts with his blazing red eyes. "Do me and you a favor and do the hells what she just told you. I have the very bad feeling that Jill is capable of making good on her treats and that not only because she nearly hit my head in today, fuck it all! That woman is dangerous in her own respect as are all of those lovely human madcaps in this flat… well, if you cancel out the little ones but that is understood from the start, as I see it.

Those humans here, they are made out of different stuff as it is normally is the case with them. As well as you are aware off it and none of us needs to have them trying to kill us because we couldn't hold ourselves in check or keep it in our pants, Kitsune! One has to be blind to see not to what you are up too. Just make certain that the rest of us is not caught up in the following crossfire, you hopelessly lovesick oaf! I really have no need for that coming my way and before you start, correct. Yes, my goal is the human called Dean. Preferred in my lair, under me in my bed and screaming my name, out of his own will. I at least, try not to go too far with my teasing and make him mad at me on his way into my keeping. Frankly spoken, try to be as subtle as you _normally_ are so famous for to be, for once and do not anger her up enough to go ballistic at all of us just because you are frustrated, fox boy."

Khan had the guts to complain at Ten in the end with a snarl.

Tetsu gapped at Khan's words before the Tao Tie did something that he had not done for the entire day. He laughed insanely for minutes after seeing the flustered look appear on Ten's face. "Fuck you, Khan! I am not frustrated and besides that, I did not mean to make her mad either!" He snarled back at the helldog once the unwanted blush had subsided somewhat.

The demon simply nodded at the words calmly.

"I know that, Youko, but the darn truth is that you managed it splendidly to do so. We both know this to be the fucking truth, so go and burn. Now apologize if you want to mellow that out, you tri times cursed nine tails, before I go ballistic here on you too! I so do not want to life in the same area that a highly irritated female occupies at the same time, do you understand me?

That never has the tendency to end up well."

Khan groaned. He knew all too well how that usually played out. If Jill was anything like the bitches of his kin, then they all were in for one hellish ride once that anger did fester and turned onto the males in this apartment. Minus Chris, since he was still too young to have her upload her wrath onto him than as well.

Ten grimaced and rubbed his head whilst having similarly thoughts about the viciousness of the females of his kinfolk at the same moment as well as Tetsu did the same across of him. As much as Ten currently wanted to go and bite one of Khan's respective heads off, of the true form of the demon lord, Khan had a good argument this time to back him up and Ten did know that as well.

Ten was cussing up a storm when he rose from his seat to go and apologize to Jill.

Tetsu watched Ten go, still sniggering madly at his predicament.

He soo did not want to be in the skin of the Kitsune right now! He forcefully ignored his friends troubles that way until his eyes meet with that of the Demon Lord. Growling at the look Tetsu finally shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know, all right?" The Helldog just nodded at that. "You better do so, the boy is darn quick witted, like the rest of them when it comes down to figure these things out. Must be a kind of inheritance gift or so in that family, I swear." He growled annoyed.

Tetsu sniggered anew under his fiery glare.

"You mean, like their weird way to treat dangerous beings like us, as if there is nothing to it to do so? Or that darn Orcrot gene that turns out blue eyes like theirs in each generation, or maybe the curios little fact that all of their family line are astonishingly pure souls?" Both shared a look of mutual contemplation before they snorted in unison.

"Looks like it, eh?" Khan muttered after a while of silent thinking about the heard. Tetsu snorted anew. "Figures, from all of the human kind, this family has to be special. I honestly wonder why that is so, Khan. I know them now since a while and I still fail to get it!"

The helldog thought that over for a few more minutes before he looked back at the Totetsu.

"Well…, I cannot give you an direct answer to that question. What I can do is to tell you what we demons think about the matter as well what I personally think about it." He told Tetsu after a while.

The Taotie looked back at Khan.

"Keep in mind that what is called a demon or a deity, lies in the perception of humankind, Tetsu. As you should know it yourself since you are originally a deity yourself. Usually it is a matter of religion, where a human hails from and the upbringing that makes up a humans believes in their live.

In short, their judgment of a situation and creature makes a being to what they generally are.

A pure soul, that is usually a human with a soul that is without blemishes of any type.

It isn't done with it to be honest all your life to be called one, when the rest of your live is not adding up, means your believes and how you act. Being honest is not enough to make you to a pure soul. In humanity there is the general believe that every child is born innocent. No matter what their parents did in their life, a child is always born with a pure soul.

As it is, they loose the pureness on their way to adulthood or in their life, more or less.

Depending on their upbringing, decisions and how they live until then.

We demons or what one could also name the darker parts of the celestial orders, think that a newborns parents lives before the child is born, or better said how their ancestors lived their lives before the baby's birth, does already determine the outcome of a pure soul. In the case of the Orcrot family, I am inclined to believe in the latter theory actually.

No other explanation does fit with what I have faced here.

From what I found out so far, their mother was a good person, literally. Their father not so much but she was the one who gave birth to them both and it is usually the female side that a child tends to follow in these things. At least from what I have seen in my long life, Tetsu. Leon as well as Chris both resemble her much, in outwards appearance as well as in personality. That at least said the child himself when I asked him earlier about her and miss Jill also told me so.

So where does that leave us in the end?

Leon, from what I understand is generally a very simple person. He believes strongly in the greater goodness of his race but never forgets at the same time how ugly humans can be. His work shows him the worst of his kin and still he somehow maintains his view of the world for the sake to not despair on what he has to see each day.

With Jill it is the same, although she has a rather more cynical view on her fellow humans as he has it. Dean too is like that. He too tries to keep what he sees as good humans from what he deems as bad humans.

And Christopher?

He is simply a innocent young human that has not seen the worst of his race so far. His soul is a rare thing to look at, Tetsu! There is not an ounce of darkness clinging to it. He is as pure as one can be and still, there is the promise of maturity ahead that makes me wonder into what kind of person he will turn to once he reaches and steps over that border. There is sometimes something in his eyes that has me wonder, something darker but not in the sense of sin but rather that of hidden steel. As I see it, his time in the shop with D has done much to determine his path in the future. It is not a bad thing but honestly told, I fear he will turn into someone that is more like us as alike a human, Tetsu. In that respect, you are one lucky Tao Tie, because he will accept you easier as Jill, Leon and Dean would ever in his shoes.

Personally I believe he will turn into a man much like Leon, minus his believe in the goodness of humanity.

Sorry, I went off the path. A pure soul is not necessarily so a human soul that is born that way and staid simply on the right path, so to speak. I and the rest of the demons think that how your ancestors lived is a part of what determines how pure a soul is that is born but all in all; in the end the actions a human takes in his or her live is what keeps a soul pure or not in the end.

I bet my tail on it that if we could go and look at Leon's family line back to its beginnings, that we would find a lot upstanding persons in it in the fare past. Most likely a lot of them were people, who dealt in the business of keeping up law and order and such. Did you know that his grandfather was in the police too? No? Well I found that out by asking Jill about Leon's family history.

The two are actually loosely related, Jill and Leon I mean.

When I asked her this morning while we were working in the room of Dean, she told me a little of their family histories. That her father was a cousin of Leon's mother and aunt. He too was a detective as was her mother. Leon's mother was once in the force too, until she had to quit because Leon's father abandoned her when she was pregnant with him.

Why she choose to take that man back a second time is a miracle to me and Jill too I guess.

However, she did it only to be abandoned again when Chris was on the way. How that ended, we both do know. It is history. Yet, what is important here is the little fact that no one of the family side of her or Leon was ever a bad person in life, so to speak. All of them did work for the betterment of their race in a way.

I think that this is why both brothers and Jill turned out the way they did.

It is in their genes, so to say, to become something to look up and follow the examples that they give to the others. It makes Leon to such an outstanding cop and leader material, her to such a clever and kindhearted woman and Chris to such a kind and open minded young man in the very end. That and that they simply stay true to themselves is what makes them to pure souls, Tetsu.

They do not need to better themselves by using lies, trickery or money as the most humans are so fond of to do. They do not hunger for supremacy, because all the power that they need they have already archived by themselves and if not, they work for it honestly but would never try to steal or take it from others by force. It is not their way to life. What they cannot reach on their own, they have the integrity to give up upon without regret.

The same is true for Dean.

When Jill and I talked of her ancestors, he told us that he is the seventh generation in his line of duty. Everyone of his male family members before him was an agent. Can you believe that? Every single one was in the law business! It is not simply tradition that he follows but the honest believe of Dean that he is doing the right thing, as Leon would call it.

His aunt, Leon's I mean, married a attorney.

Did you know that he originally had not the firm he had taken on later? Once that man was a good and honest man too. I am sure, if both girls of them follow the original path of their family, they will turn out good souls too when they ever marry and have families of their own.

Do you understand what I try to say, Tetsu?"

The Totetsu nodded slowly.

As he did get Khan's words; Leon, Chris, Jill and Dean were good souls because they had managed to avoid the usual snares into that humans normally stepped in on their way through life. Thus that, they all, including Chris, had become such strong souls because all had a good upraising from their parents and had a good lineage to back them up. The good genetics had, in a way, helped them along.

The latter disturbed Tetsu somehow in more ways than one. In Tetsu's way of seeing things, it disabled the most of the other humans from becoming fine and honest souls before they were even born. To be honest, Tetsu questioned it silently.

He wasn't so sure as Khan was it that genetically pedigree really had much to do with how a person turned out in the end.

The mystical side of a lineage however, that he could believe in to have to do with it how a human turned out in the end. Tetsu was a mythical creature after all and so, that line of thoughts was almost familiar to him and easy for Tetsu to make responsible for his current dilemma. He had seen such family lines before and honestly told, Tetsu thought that it could be the case here with this specific family too. Maybe some unknown deity had watched over the ancestors of Leon and Chris in the past.

He sighed. Tetsu got it slowly that he would most likely never obtain an adequate answer to his question and left it at that with an unhappy growl.

_**Please drop me a line if you would like me to continue this story, Suryallee **_

**Glossary:**

(**DAIYU (****黛玉****).** Chinese name for girls, meaning "**black jade**," from (黛) tai4 1306a "black, umber, to paint the eyebrows," and (玉) yü4 1685c "jade, jewels; beautiful, precious." (A Mandarin-Romanized Dictionary of Chinese, MacGillivray, 1921).)

(**EGYPTIAN CAT,** also known as **Pharaoh Cat**. Died out species of cats, settled into the time of the old Egypt's in the time of before the pyramids. Had long ears, short fur and were long legged. Bigger as today's housecats and much wilder. An adaption of that original species still lives today. Genetically speaking. Some were said to be otherworldly creatures that could be guardians of temples or even gods with strong powers.)

(**HELLDOG,** a beast of old folklore and European myths, origin in Greece mythology as a guardian of the doors to the underworld. Also known for hunting down souls of mortals who dare to cross their domains. Known for guarding demons and sometimes vampires and in some cases even to guard Gods if needed in European legends.)

(**HARPY,** bird alike beast with a woman torso from the myths and legends of the old Greek. Told of to lure unsuspecting sailors off their paths to sink their ships and then drown and eat them. In other cases told to sing humans into madness.)

(**KAMI,** a deity in Japanese mythology and religion. Name for such heavenly beings. Is used in the manga world for others in some cases too. In short, a god or goddess of some kind.)

(**KITZUNE, **mythological fox like creature, sometimes called a Deity, sometimes a demon of Japanese origin. Has usually more then one tail, the most dangerous are the ones with nine, the highest number to reach for them. Are seen as clever tricksters that can be dangerous as they can be kind. Also seen as the fortune deities of harvest.)

(**TAO TIE**, also known as **Totetsu** in Japanese. Originally a beast alike deity or half deity out of the times of the Chang Dynasty in ancient China. Known for being insatiable in their hunger and for eating everything. Can fuel the positive imagination of artists, is sometimes known to be a muse for them as well. In old folk tales of ancient China to modern days, it is said that they can take on a harmless appearance to lure children into their grasp to eat or keep them)


End file.
